Silent Hill: A Novel
by Drew Rogers
Summary: Taking place immediately after the events of the first game, Harry retells his story to Brahms Police Chief George O'Grady. The truth behind the events of the first game are about to be revealed...
1. Prologue

Silent Hill

A Novel

By Drew Rogers

Based Upon The Video Game "Silent Hill" by Konami

Prologue

August 21, 1983

Highway 37, Idaho

Near the town of Silent Hill

4:15 AM

Officer Daniel Brusceme sighed wearily and shifted in the passenger seat of the patrol car driven by his partner, Officer Jack Pollack. He rubbed his eyes, turned and stared silently out at the passing highway. Dawn had broken just a half hour ago, and he and Pollack were doing their usual morning highway patrol between the township of Silent Hill and their hometown of Brahms, but today he felt exhausted. Maybe I'm getting too old for this, he thought to himself.

"This job is the pits," Brusceme said to Pollack, just to break the unbearable silence. "Every morning for the last three years, we drag ourselves out of bed at crow-piss, and for what? There's never anything going on out here in the middle of nowhere that needs our attention. Have we ever had anything out here that required our attention? Have we even ever _passed another car_? At least they could let one of us sleep in once in a while."

"You're forgetting two things, Brusceme. One; O'Grady has no sympathy for anyone. That's how he got to the top. Two; you're an officer of the law. Stop bitching and do your damn job. You don't hear me complaining."

Brusceme screwed up his face. Pollack was the perfect boy-scout type who had a sense of duty so strong he'd make the Pope look like a slacker. It drove him nuts. He was about to poke fun at him when he made out a figure on the road ahead. "Pollack!"

"I see it." Pollack brought the car to a halt and shifted into park. He nodded to Brusceme, and they got out of the car in unison. "Hey, buddy," he started, but stopped in mid-sentence as he took in the sight before him.

A man, couldn't have been more than 35, stood in the road before them. His jeans and brown leather jacket were stained with blood, and he carried a bloody bundle in his arms. His eyes were what scared him the most. They were bugged out of his skull and bloodshot. They reminded him of pictures of Charlie Manson's eyes that he'd seen in a book he had read about the Manson Family Murders.

He looked at Brusceme, who had also turned to stare, shocked, at Pollack. He then looked back at the man as the bundle, which was just a bundle of cloth, suddenly rolled open and a bloody baby's corpse fell to the ground with a sickening thud.

He heard Brusceme turn and run to the side of the road, wretching. Pollack fumbled at his holster, and drew his pistol. "Freeze!" Pollack yelled, aiming his pistol at the man's forehead. "Down on the ground! Now!"

The man looked down at the corpse at his feet, then looked back up at Pollack. He blinked once, then a look of horror passed over his face. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a pistol very similar to Pollack's own. He screamed at the top of his lungs as a shot rang out.

Pollack shut his eyes and gritted his teeth, waiting for the punch of the bullet. It never came. He opened them and saw the man clutching his right shoulder, blood gushing out over his hand.

Brusceme stood at the side of the road, his smoking pistol in his hand. He side-stepped over to Pollack. He stole a glance at Pollack, then turned his attention back at the man. Pollack quickly regained his composure and trained his gun on the man again as well.

The man stared at his ruined shoulder, then gazed at the two men with a look of such sorrow it took Pollack by surprise. He opened his mouth, and whispered a name.

"Cheryl."

Pollack wondered if this "Cheryl" was the corpse at the man's feet. Before he could ask him, the man collapsed face down on the road.

Pollack nodded at Brusceme, and they moved in opposite curves around the man. Pollack edged towards the man, and poked his side with his boot.

"Cuff him."

Brusceme quickly handcuffed the man, and together they dragged him to the patrol car and threw him into the backseat. They slammed the door and got into the front seat.

For a few minutes they both just sat, stunned, in silence. Finally, Brusceme once again broke the uncomfortable quiet. "Guess you were right about us having a job to do out here after all."

Pollack inclined his head in a curt nod. "Told ya. We should get this maniac back to Brahms."

"But what about that?" Brusceme bobbed his head in the direction of the infant corpse.

"You stay here and guard the area while I head back to town. I'll be back with help as soon as I can."

Brusceme was just about to protest staying out here in the middle of nowhere with a baby's corpse at four o'clock in the morning, but he knew that Pollack had made up his mind. So he simply got out of the car and watched as Pollack turned the car in a U-turn and disappeared into the fog.

He looked down at the withered corpse on the ground and shivered. Whatever the hell they had gotten themselves into, it was something big.


	2. Chapter One

Part One

Human Suffering

Chapter One

August 21, 1983

Brahms, Idaho

5:14 AM

Brahms Police Department was in utter turmoil. When Officer Pollack had returned minutes ago with a bloody and delirious man, Police Chief George O'Grady knew that the day would be a major headache, to say the least. Brahms was a small, simple town, where the most severe cases the police had to deal with were robberies and domestic disturbances.

His assumption had been correct when Pollack began wailing about a dead baby on the road. He had left Brusceme behind to guard the scene (a huge mistake in O'Grady's opinion. Brusceme had joined the force not to protect the innocent and uphold the law but to try and get laid with the uniform). With news of a dead baby, the entire force was going nuts. O'Grady shouted to everyone to settle down. He got Pollack to lock the man in the holding cell and then ordered him to drive them back out to where he had left Brusceme.

It was indeed going to be a long day.

August 21, 1983

Highway 37, Idaho

Near Silent Hill

5:49 AM

Brusceme was getting edgy. Brahms was a long way away. It would be at least another half hour until Pollack got back, and that's if he hurried. Brusceme had a fear of wide open spaces, it was the main reason he hated being Highway Patrol. He tried to cover it up by acting like a whiny slacker.

Brusceme hadn't seen a single car go by since Pollack had left. The only other town nearby was Silent Hill. No one really bothered to come out this way. Anyone traveling used Interstate 86 and 15.

Dammit, Pollack, why did you leave me here to guard this thing? No one's going to tamper with evidence. But since it's standard procedure for someone to guard the crime scene, of course you felt the need to make me stay here.

He stole another glance at the baby, then was overcome by another wave of nausea. He stumbled to the side of the highway and sat down with a thud. He closed his eyes and waited for the feeling to subside.

He opened his eyes and nearly screamed. A figure was standing near the baby. He squinted to make out the figure, but the fog was obscuring it.

"Hey!" Brusceme began to stand up, and the figure turned to him. He started forward but suddenly found himself unable to move. The figure was holding its hand out at him. The fog subsided slightly, and Brusceme could now make out that the figure was female, but her features were still invisible.

The woman knelt down, scooped up the infant's corpse, then turned and disappeared into the fog completely.

Brusceme found he could once again move. Just as he was about to take off after the woman, the piercing howl of an air-raid siren filled his ears. His vision swam, and then he fell into darkness.

August 21, 1983

Highway 37, Idaho

19 miles away

6:15 AM

O'Grady stared sullenly out the passenger window at the passing rocky cliff. He never liked this part of the highway. It was built into a steep cliffside. There had been a number of accidents here, mostly involving residents of Brahms and Silent Hill traveling between the two towns. No one else really came down this far on Highway 37.

The accidents were easily explained. Falling rocks from the cliffs above, and a sharp fall below. Yet still, there was something about them that didn't feel quite right. They mostly happened in the daytime, with a few exceptions, and none of the drivers were ever found to have any alcohol or drugs in their system. Those drivers that were found that is. Some of the bodies were never found.

And now with this incident, O'Grady was liking the highway even less.

Or maybe he was just reading too many horror novels.

That was probably it. Or simply wishful thinking. It was a very dubious honor to be chief of police for a town that nothing ever happened in.

As usual, Pollack was completely silent. He wasn't exactly a social butterfly. O'Grady suddenly needed noise. This silence was overbearing. It was, in a way, loud. Too loud for him to bear. He desperately tried turning on the radio, knowing damn well that there were no radio transmitters near enough to pick up any stations. The only town in the region with radio access was Silent Hill, and even then the reception was lousy.

But O'Grady found the simple buzzing of the static had a calming effect on him. So he sat there enjoying the white noise. Pollack made no move to turn it off. He wouldn't dare turn off anything that O'Grady turned on without written permission. His sense of duty was refreshing, but O'Grady often felt that working with Pollack felt more like baby-sitting.

Both of the officers jumped as the radio suddenly began shrieking, for lack of a better word. It was really more of a strange hollow echo. That was the best O'Grady could put it. It was really an indescribable noise.

"What the hell?" Pollack muttered. As he reached to turn off the radio, O'Grady turned to stare, resigned, out of the window. He'd just have to tolerate the silence.

A moment later, O'Grady swore he saw a little girl on his side of the road. She was wearing a blue plaid dress, white tights and black leather shoes. As they passed her, he made eye contact with the girl. O'Grady's blood ran cold. Her eyes were glowing red. He blinked and looked back to where she was standing.

No one was there.

"Hey, Chief, you okay?"

O'Grady turned to Pollack. "Yeah. Yeah, I am. I just thought I saw something. I didn't get enough sleep last night."

"Okay," Pollack said with uncertainty in his voice, "anyway, we're almost there."

Five minutes later, Pollack pulled the car to a sudden halt. O'Grady stared out of the windshield to where Brusceme lay sprawled on the ground.

Pollack jumped out of the car and ran to Brusceme. "Oh, shit!"

O'Grady walked over to where Pollack knelt by Brusceme. "Danny, you okay? Wake up!"

"You jackass, that won't wake him up." O'Grady grunted. "Hey, Brusceme, some big-chested broad is here to see you."

Brusceme's eyes fluttered open. "Huh? Where?"

O'Grady glanced at Pollack. "See?"

Brusceme then sat bolt upright. "The woman!"

"What woman?"

"She took the baby's body!"

"What?!" Pollack shouted at Brusceme. "Why didn't you go after her?"

"She did something to me. I don't know what, but I couldn't move. Then I heard these sirens and I blacked out."

"Did you get a look at her?"

Brusceme looked down. "No. The fog was too thick."

O'Grady growled. "Well that's fucking great. Now we've got a missing baby's corpse, a delirious man in a holding cell back there, and a mysterious woman who has said baby's corpse."

Pollack stood up. "Speaking of him, we should get back to Brahms and question him. He may know who this woman is."

"Yeah. What else can we do?" O'Grady glared at Brusceme and walked back to the patrol car.


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter 2

August 21, 1983

Brahms, Idaho

Brahms Police Department

10:32 AM

The man's bullet wound had been cleaned when O'Grady, Pollack, and Brusceme trudged back into the station. He had also calmed down considerably. He sat on the cell's cot, his eyes blank and unseeing, staring at the wall.

O'Grady dismissed Pollack and Brusceme, and went and sat in his office, trying to clear his mind before interviewing the man. He waited two hours, catching up on paperwork. Let the guy sit and stew in his own guilt for a bit. That would make it easier to get a confession. At ten thirty he stood up and walked to the holding cells, unlocked the cell and entered it. He sat down on the toilet seat in front of the wall the man was staring at. They sat that way for about five minutes. Finally, the man blinked and looked into O'Grady's eyes.

"You ready to talk about what the hell happened back on the highway?"

"W-Where am I?" The man's voice was weak and unsteady.

"You're in a jail cell. In Brahms. I'm George O'Grady."

"Brahms? Then, is she here?"

"She? Who's she?" O'Grady's heart fluttered. Maybe he did know who the woman was after all.

"Cybil. I lost her in the fog. Is she here?"

"Cybil?" O'Grady's hair stood on end. He couldn't possibly be talking about the Cybil he was thinking about.

"Yeah," the man sat up, "she's a cop from here, right?"

Oh, my God, O'Grady thought, he _is_ talking about Cybil. But how could he know.....?

"Yeah. Yeah, she is." O'Grady gave his head a shake, "What's your name?"

".......Harry. Harry Mason."

"Harry, what did you do to that baby?"

Harry screwed up his face in a look of pain. "I didn't do anything to it!"

"Harry, if you didn't do anything to it, why were you walking around with a skinless baby?"

"I.....she wasn't like that when I got her. Oh, God, I thought everything was going to be okay, I thought I could start over. I thought the nightmare was over."

"Harry, calm down. Tell me what happened."

Harry looked at O'Grady with pleading eyes. "No. Don't make me relive it. You can't make me relive it! You can't!"

O'Grady knew it was time to go. He would interview Harry further later when he had a chance to clear his head. Too much had happened in too small a time for him to handle.

He needed a donut.

August 21, 1983

Brahms, Idaho

Dunkin Donuts

12:04 AM

Cybil.

It had been so long since O'Grady had heard her name spoken aloud. He often thought about her, but he never really acknowledged just how much. After the investigation into her disappearance had turned up nothing conclusive, he had just kind of tucked her away in the back of his mind.

In 1975, the Silent Hill Police Department had requested the assistance of the B.P.D in a case they were pursuing. It seemed that a new kind of narcotic was being distributed around the small town, one that had extreme hallucinogenic properties. It was being sold to the tourists, who, in turn, went completely nuts as a result of the drug.

Cybil Bennett had been Highway Patrol before Pollack and Brusceme had come along. She was smart, fearless, and had a perfect track record. Since she usually patrolled the highway between the two towns, O'Grady had assigned her to help the S.H.P.D in their case.

Working alongside the S.H.P.D, she had managed to turn up many suspicious figures. The most promising were two individuals in particular.

She had radioed him and told him that much before saying she would be heading back to Brahms immediately. She didn't say the names of the two suspects, only that there was much more going on there than a simple drug ring, and he was never able to find out their names, either.

Cybil was never seen again.

After the entire night had passed, O'Grady, concerned that she hadn't yet returned, headed out in the direction of Silent Hill. On the way there, he had spotted a crashed motorcycle on the side of the highway. He had stopped that car and, upon closer examination, had discovered that this, indeed, was Cybil's patrol bike.

He stood up and scanned the area, searching for her. He could see no sign of her. He looked back down at the bike again. The front wheel was badly bent, indicating that she must have hit something solid. But what? If she had hit the cliffside, she'd be all over the place. And considering the position of the bike, it was unlikely that she had been thrown over the side of the cliff.

Nonetheless, it might have happened. He walked over to the other side of the road and peered out over the edge. He hadn't known just how close to Silent Hill he was. The town was right there.

He'd then driven further down the road to the exit leading into town. He went right to the station. According to the chief of police there, William Nevlin, Cybil had last been seen heading to the church. Cybil always had said she did her best thinking in the presence of God. After a short time (just after O'Grady had gotten Cybil's final message, if Nevlin's timing was correct) Cybil had been seen leaving the church.

Other than that, he could find nothing. Other than her bike, there was no trace of Cybil anywhere. The investigation into what had happened to Cybil ground to a halt a year after her disappearance when a fire broke out in Central Silent Hill that burnt down six houses. The S.H.P.D stopped cooperating with O'Grady; they were too busy investigating the fire, which had begun under mysterious circumstances. O'Grady had finally given up.

And now, seven years later, O'Grady had a man in his jail who claimed to have seen Cybil recently.

O'Grady stood up. Forget donuts. What he really needed now was half a Valium.

August 21, 1983

Brahms, Idaho

Brahms Police Department

1:00 PM

O'Grady had gone home and taken a small nap to calm his nerves, and then returned to the station. He decided to try calling the S.H.P.D, see if they knew anything about this Mason guy.

The phone rang once before it was picked up. "Hello?"

O'Grady recognized the voice of Sergeant Douglas. "Douglas, it's O'Grady from Brahms, I need to ask you...."

"O'Grady, thank God! I was just about to call you! It's insane down here!"

O'Grady felt his blood run cold. "What do you mean?"

"We have a murder here. And a brutal one at that. Look, you've got to see this for yourself. Get down here now. Come to the hospital."

Seconds later O'Grady was rushing out the door towards his car. He stole a quick glance at Harry, who just sat staring at him, and O'Grady swore he saw a knowing smile on his face.


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter 3

August 21, 1983

Silent Hill, Idaho

Alchemilla Hospital

2:00 PM

O'Grady stared, stone-faced, at the bloody corpse seated in the desk chair before him.

"A nurse found him like this. He apparently stayed late last night to work on something, no one knows what." Douglas said, making sure not to look at it.

The man was slumped over his desk in a congealed pool of blood that continued to drip, gooey, to the floor. His face looked like it had been peeled off, and his eyes stared, unseeing, at O'Grady. All over the rest of his body, there were small chunks missing from him.

"What are these?"

"Those are bite wounds. There are many indents all over his body that look like they were made by human teeth."

O'Grady stood up. "You know who this is? Was?" He corrected himself.

Douglas consulted his notepad. "Name's Michael Kaufmann. He was the director of this hospital."

O'Grady sighed and stood up. "There's a man in my jail in Brahms who I think may have had something to do with this."

Douglas looked up, surprised. "What?"

O'Grady quickly explained the events of that morning to the officer. "I'm going to get imprints of this guy's teeth. I have a feeling they will match the bite marks on the body."

"Um, sir, with all due respect, we don't have the technology to do this kind of thing."

O'Grady cursed under his breath. Of course they didn't. But he had read enough crime novels to know a thing or two about forensics. "Then we'll send the body and my suspect's indents to Twin Peaks. They'll have the necessary equipment. Trust me."

Douglas looked doubtful. "I'll run it by Nevlin."

O'Grady returned to his car. It was time to find out just who the hell Harry Mason was.


	5. Chapter Four

Part Two

Tears Of Pain

Chapter 4

August 21, 1983

Brahms, Idaho

Brahms Police Department

3:27 PM

Harry looked up as the cop, O'Grady, he remembered, burst into his cell.

"Okay, it's time for you to tell what the hell is going on. I don't care if it upsets you."

Minutes later he found himself in a cramped interrogation room, sitting across from O'Grady.

"Now, Harry, what exactly happened in that town?"

Harry squinted his eyes, desperately trying to make sense of all that happened to him in the last two days.

"I....I don't know..."

"What does that mean, Harry? You don't know what you did?"

Harry glared at O'Grady. "I know what I didn't do, and I didn't kill that baby."

"Does the name Michael Kaufmann mean anything to you?"

Harry's heart skipped a beat. Cautious, he spoke, choosing his words carefully. "Yes, what about him?"

"He's dead."

"No big surprise there." Shit! Harry cursed himself. That would not make things easier for him.

"What do you mean?"

"I met him, briefly, yesterday. Look, whatever happened to him, I have nothing to do with it. Last I saw of him...." Harry stopped, his mind drawing a blank. Last time he had seen him, what? He had no idea.

"Yes?"

"I don't know. My mind, it's all fuzzy."

O'Grady leaned forward. "Maybe it'd be easier if you start at the beginning"

Harry chuckled bitterly to himself. "I don't even know where the beginning is."

O'Grady said nothing. He just sat there and looked at Harry like some sort of specimen in a science lab. He sighed and shifted in his seat.

"I suppose the real beginning of this whole mess was seven years ago. My wife was dying of ovarian cancer. She had always wanted to hike the Massacre Rocks State Park....."

July 29, 1976

Brigham City, Utah

The Mason Residence

6:30 PM

"Honey, you know how you always wanted to hike the Massacre Rocks State Park?" Harry spoke to his wife, Carolyn. She looked away from the television and locked her sad brown eyes on his.

"Yes?"

"How would you like to go there next week? I mean, live your dream before...." Harry stopped as his wife's eyes blinked suddenly and she looked away. Ever since she had found out about the cancer, she had refused to speak about it.

"I'm sorry, honey. Forget I said anything."

Carolyn looked back at him. "No, Harry, you're right. I need to live my life to the fullest, more so now than ever. I'd love to go."

A week later they packed their bags, got into Harry's beloved red Jeep, and drove off in the direction of the Idaho State line.

August 4, 1976

Malad City, Idaho

12:00 AM

After driving for four hours, Harry and Carolyn had decided to stop off in Malad City for the night. As Carolyn checked them into a Best Western, Harry thought about how ironic it was that he and his terminally ill wife were staying in a town whose name meant "sick" in French.

That night, Carolyn woke up sobbing. Harry held her and asked her what was wrong.

"Harry, I'm going to die. I just realized that. I'm never going to be able to have children. Ever since I was a little girl, my only dream was to have a child. I just had a terrible dream, that I gave birth to a little girl, but that she was a demon." Carolyn fell into Harry's chest, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Shhh," Harry cooed, stroking her head lovingly, "it was just a bad dream. I knew we shouldn't have watched Rosemary's Baby last night."

Carolyn pulled herself up to look right into Harry's eyes. "No, you don't understand, it felt so _real_."

"Caro, everyone has had vivid dreams at one point in their lives. I have them all the time. It's where I get the ideas for my novels."

He could see that nothing he could say would make her feel any better, so he changed the subject. "I have an idea. Tomorrow, let's take the scenic route. Instead of taking the Interstate to Massacre Rocks, let's go on the highway we passed a little distance back. A little fresh air and some peace and quiet will do you good."

This seemed to please Carolyn, and she kissed him gently and went back to sleep.

August 4, 1976

Malad City, Idaho

Village Inn Motel

9:03 AM

Harry woke up before Carolyn, and, watching her sleep, he couldn't bear to wake her, so he loaded their bags into his car, and then sat and watched her sleep. He wondered how much longer she would be around. It wouldn't be long enough. A sharp stab of despair shot through his heart. How would he get by without her?

He didn't waste time wishing she wasn't dying. Wishing did nothing. He simply resolved to live his final days with her to the fullest.

He didn't know why, but he felt this trip was very important. It was just a feeling he had.

Carolyn stirred and opened her eyes. Her eyes were fuzzy with sleep, and she mumbled something that sounded like "The nurse is going to save her", then drifted off again.

Harry carried her out to the car, and minutes later they were back on the Interstate. After about 20 minutes, he pulled onto Highway 38.

Carolyn slept for three whole hours, without waking up. So much for the scenic route, Harry thought, but at least his wife was getting the first sound sleep she had had in a long time.

The highway had curved and turned into Highway 37, and this particular stretch of highway was built into a cliff. The sky had quickly darkened as they drove. He heard a low rumble of thunder. Harry slowed down a little as they rounded a bend, and nearly drove through the guard rail when his wife's eyes shot open and she screamed.

Harry brought the car to a grinding halt and turned to her. "Caro, what the hell was that?"

But his wife was already fast asleep again.

He stared at her for a few minutes, then, deciding she was okay, drove away slowly.

August 5, 1976

Highway 37, Idaho

3:21 PM

Deflated, Harry looked at his despondent wife, who slumped on the side of the passenger-side door, staring out at the passing countryside. The trip had been a failure. Carolyn had felt too weary to hike, and was strangely malevolent to Harry. He tried to reach out to her, but she had demanded to be taken home.

They were approaching the cliffside when Caro sat up slightly. "Harry, stop the car here, I need some fresh air."

Harry pulled to a stop next to a small dilapidated cemetery. "Caro, are you sure you want to stop by a cemetery? I mean, you seem pretty upset...."

She opened the door and got out, slamming the door on Harry in midsentence. He sighed and got out and followed her into the cemetery.

He had to run to keep up with her. "Caro, wait up! I thought you weren't feeling well!" He caught up with her kneeling by a tombstone whose inscription was too faded to read. "Caro...."

He stopped short when he saw what she was kneeling by. It was a small bundle of cloth that appeared to be moving slightly. Carolyn stood up, and Harry bent down and picked it up. She reached over and pulled back a flap from the bundle. She gasped and drew her hand back quickly.

Inside the bundle, there was a newborn baby. It giggled and reached out a small hand towards Carolyn.

Harry and his wife looked at each other, and smiled.

August 21, 1983

Brahms, Idaho

Brahms Police Department

3:39 PM

Harry stopped talking as O'Grady interrupted him.

"So, you say that you and your wife found a baby in the Smithsgrove Cemetery up on the highway seven years ago?"

"Yes."

"And around what time of year would you say this was?"

"It was this time of year. The seven-year anniversary was just a week ago."

"And what happened after that?"

"Carolyn pleaded with me to adopt the child. After the nightmare she had had before then I couldn't say no. It also felt....right. That's the only way I can put it."

"You didn't attempt to see if the child was missing from either Silent Hill or here?"

Harry laughed bitterly. "At the time, Carolyn and I thought there was absolutely nothing out here. We didn't see this town or Silent Hill."

O'Grady leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. "I can see how you'd miss us, we're off the main highway, but how could you miss Silent Hill? It's right across from the cemetery."

"I...I don't know. Looking back now I am confused as to why I didn't see it. I remember looking around after we found the baby, and I swear I looked right in the direction of the town. But I don't recall seeing anything."

There was an uncomfortable silence as he realized that O'Grady must be sure that he was completely nuts.

"So, we took her home. We named her Cheryl, after Carolyn's grandmother. The doctors had predicted that Carolyn would die around November of that year, but after Cheryl came along Carolyn showed signs of improvement. November passed and she was still with us. I began to hope that maybe she had beaten the cancer, but three years later Carolyn finally passed away one night in her sleep.

"Naturally, I was absolutely devastated. I loved Carolyn with all my heart and soul, but by then Cheryl was walking and talking, and I was thinking about getting her to start preschool, so I pulled myself together for her sake. I am completely certain that it was Cheryl who helped me survive her death."

"And where is Cheryl now?"

Before Harry could answer, the door opened and an officer poked his head into the room.

"O'Grady, we just got a call from Nevlin. He okayed your idea and is sending the body to Twin Peaks. Do you have the suspects indents?"

"No. I forgot. I'll do that right now. Can you stay here and watch the suspect, Jergens?"

As O'Grady left the room, Harry wondered what he was talking about. A few moments later, O'Grady reentered the room with a small piece of Styrofoam Harry could see he had torn from a cup. He got Harry to bite down on it gently, then gave it to the cop, nodded, and then sat back down again. Jergens left the room.

"Sorry about that. Anyway, where were we?" He furrowed his brow. "Ah, yes. Where is Cheryl now?"

Harry bit his lip and looked into his lap. He fought back tears and spoke, his voice breaking slightly. "That's a bit more complicated. I'm not even sure what the hell happened."

O"Grady leaned forward on his elbows and laced his fingers under his chin, interested.

Harry squeezed the bridge of his nose in an attempt to relieve his horrible headache, which would no doubt worsen as he tried to make sense of it all.

"After Caro died, I made it a sort of ritual to take Cheryl back to Massacre Rocks around this time every year. It took on a spiritual meaning to me. I wanted to ensure that Cheryl got to enjoy the last place Carolyn ever wanted to enjoy, but never did. Although now I'm not so sure that it was all my idea. Cheryl always loved the trips, and this year she was adamant about going. It was all she talked about for the last two weeks.

"Now I think I know why. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Anyway, two days ago, we packed up our luggage and left our home, drove to the Idaho State line, and then made our way onto Highway 37...."

August 19, 1983

Highway 37

9:00 PM

The moon was hidden behind dark ominous clouds that night, filling Harry with a feeling of unease. It was more than just the darkness, though. It felt like an omen of some kind.

As usual, he and Cheryl had stopped in Malad City for a quick bite to eat (they never stayed the night, for some reason that Harry didn't even know himself), where Cheryl hadn't been her usual chatty self. In fact, ever since they began to prepare for the trip, Cheryl had been grumpy and agitated. During the meal, all she did was draw in her sketchbook.

Harry had given her the sketchbook for her fourth birthday. She treasured it and never went anywhere without it. It was her security blanket.

After the meal, Harry had difficulty getting the Jeep to start. He went back inside the diner and called a mechanic who found that the timing belt was broken. He assured Harry that he had the right belt at his garage and could fix it relatively quickly, and that he would bring the Jeep back to the diner as soon as it was fixed. After the Jeep was towed, Harry and Cheryl sat in the diner, waiting for the mechanic to arrive. Harry sipped at his coffee while Cheryl busied herself at a brochure rack. A short time passed when Cheryl skipped over to Harry, a brochure clasped to her chest. She appeared to be in a better mood now, Harry was relieved to see.

"Daddy? Look at what I found!"

Harry took the brochure from her, and looked at the front. It was for a small resort town called Silent Hill. He opened it up, and read the inside. It read: "_Welcome to Silent Hill! Silent Hill, a quiet little lakeside resort town. We're happy to have you here. Row after row of quaint old houses, gorgeous mountain landscape, and a lake which shows different sides of its beauty with the passing of the day, from sunrise to late afternoons to sunset. Silent Hill will move you and fill you with a feeling of deep peace, I hope your time here will be pleasant and your memories will last forever. Editor: Roger Widmark_".

Harry frowned as he saw the map showing how to get there. It was on the same highway right near where Carolyn and he had found Cheryl seven years ago. He didn't recall seeing a town by the cemetary. It must be a relatively new town.

"It's nice, honey." He said reluctantly. He felt incredibly uneasy. He hadn't told her yet that she was not his. He didn't want to take her anywhere near the cemetary where he found her. He never even traveled that highway when he went to the Massacre Rocks State Park with her every year.

"Daddy, can we go there? Please? We can still go to the park after!" Cheryl pleaded.

"Honey, why do you want to go there?"

"Because we do the same thing every year! I know it has something to do with Mom, but this place sounds really nice! There's a lake, and a park, and even an amusement park! I really want to go. Please?"

Harry looked at his daughter's hopeful little face and couldn't resist. There was no danger in taking her there. She had been an infant when he found her, and it's not like she would figure it out just by going near the cemetary. "Alright, honey, as soon as the car comes back we'll go to this Silent Hill place."

Cheryl cheered, and after the Jeep arrived back, all fixed, Harry paid the mechanic, turned around, and doubled back to the highway much like he had done with Carolyn seven years ago.

It was much later now than he had planned on driving that day. It had been five o'clock in the afternoon when he had stopped with Cheryl at the diner, but now it was nine o'clock. Cheryl had gone back to drawing in her sketchbook for the first part of the trip. A little while ago, she had fallen asleep and slumped gently over onto the door. The sketchbook remained tightly clasped to her chest.

After driving in complete silence for fifteen minutes, Cheryl sat up with a small gasp. Harry looked at her and she looked quietly back at him and gave him a tiny smile.

Harry looked out the window, searching for the exit leading into Silent Hill. He couldn't see anything in this darkness. Cheryl leaned back and fell asleep again. The sketchbook slid from her hands and onto the floor in front of her seat. Harry reached over and picked it up. It had fallen open to the page she had been scribbling at in the diner. He nearly drove off the road at what he saw.

It appeared to be a nurse. But there was some sort of worm on her back and she was all hunched over. She appeared to be crying tears of blood as well. He then heard a tiny honk and looked back up as a cop on a motorcycle overtook them. As she drove by his window, her eyes and Harry's locked for a moment. All time seemed to slow down as something; he had no idea what it was, was communicated between them. He nodded his head slightly, he didn't know why.

She passed them and drove off with a flash into the darkness ahead. Harry looked back to the sketchbook, still open in his hand.

"Huh?"

The picture wasn't a nurse at all. It was a picture of a giant flower, a daisy, smiling as it took in light from a large smiling sun. He squeezed the bridge of his nose and set the book back into her hands.

Harry slowed down slightly as he went around the bend, and as he did this he saw a motorcycle on the side of the road, its front wheel all bent up. He turned in his seat as he realized it was a police motorcycle. Had something happened to the cop? He didn't see a body. As he continued mulling this over in his mind, Cheryl opened her eyes, looked out the windshield, and screamed.

Harry swung his head back to the road. A girl, about twenty-one, stood in the middle of the road. She was wearing an old-fashioned blue sailor suit uniform. In a panic, Harry swung the steering wheel to the right. There was a squeal of metal on metal as he drove through the guardrail and pitched into the air.

August 21, 1983

Brahms, Idaho

Brahms Police Department

4:02 PM

O'Grady interrupted Harry at this point. "Wait a second; you saw a policewoman on the highway, and you then saw a motorcycle with its front wheel all bent up?"

"Yes."

"And you didn't see any sign of her?"

"Not yet."

"And then you almost hit this girl on the road? Did you hit her?"

"No, I think it's safe to say she wasn't even there."

O'Grady cradled his head in his hands. This guy was obviously nuts. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Listen, even if she was there, I didn't hit her. I'm sure of it"

"Why?" O'Grady moaned.

"Because I met up with her later. At least, I think it was her."

O'Grady was now getting frustrated with this fruitcake. Now he was talking in riddles. "Okay, then, where is she now? Maybe she'll be able to make this a little more clearer."

"She's dead."

Well, isn't that special? O'Grady thought. He'd heard enough for now. "Thanks for your cooperation, Mr. Mason."

"But I'm not finished yet!"

"I've heard quite enough from you for now. Jergens!"

O'Grady stood up as Jergens opened the door. "Yes, sir?"

"Take Mr. Mason back to his cell."

"You haven't heard the entire story yet!" Harry yelled desperately.

O'Grady left the room.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

August 21, 1983

Brahms, Idaho

Brahms Police Department

6:06 PM

O'Grady tried to concentrate on his paperwork, but found his mind wandering back to Harry and his story. He pushed the paperwork aside and decided that he couldn't just leave his story at this. He needed to know more.

He returned to the interrogation room and seconds later a bewildered Harry sat in front of him. At O'Grady's prompting, he continued.

August 20, 1983

Silent Hill, Idaho

Bachman Road

10:07 AM

Booming. A dull throbbing emanating from somewhere deep within. Specks of color floating, mocking, intangible, laughing just out of reach. The girl. Burned. Bandages. Images blurring by. Making no sense. So clear. House. Water. Telephone pole. Carousel. Wheelchair. Nurse. Worm. It was trying to force its way out of his brain. Pressure. Pain. Pressure. Pain. Pressure. Pain. Pressure. Pain. Pressure. Pain. Pressure. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain.

Stop.

Wake up.

Cheryl.

Harry's eyes fluttered open slowly. His head hurt and his vision was blurry. He put a shaky hand to his forehead. It was sticky and wet. He looked at his hand. It was bloody. Outside the cracked and broken windshield of his Jeep he saw fog. And was that snow falling? Cheryl loved snow.....

Cheryl!

Harry sat bolt upright, ignoring the pain that roared through his body at the sudden movement. He shook his head and looked to the passenger seat.

Cheryl was gone. The door stood open. Harry felt the seat. It was still warm, and there was no sign of blood. He forced open his broken door and gasped as he fell to the ground.

His jeep had flown over the side of the highway onto the incline next to an underpass. His Jeep was precariously balanced on a small brick wall that ran all the way up the street. He looked in shock as he saw that the highway over the overpass had collapsed, blocking the route entirely. He also noticed that it was light out. He looked at his watch. It was morning. He'd been out cold all night.

Then he noticed the emptiness.

The street was entirely devoid of life. There was no one in sight at all. He walked down the street, making his way into town. The fog was thick, too thick. It obscured his view to no more than ten feet in front of him. And indeed it was snowing. In August. It didn't even snow in August in most of Canada. Something was wrong.

Harry ran down the street to an intersection. He read the street sign. He was on Bachman road.

Then he heard little footsteps around the corner. As he turned it, he could make out Cheryl just in front of him in the fog, playing hopscotch.

"Cheryl? Is that Cheryl?" Harry spoke aloud. The little figure stopped playing and ran into the middle of the road. Harry limped after her. Damn. He must have hurt his leg in the crash. At least Cheryl looked okay.

"Wait, where are you going?" Cheryl didn't respond. She just stood there, facing away from him. Then she started walking again. "Wait! Stop!"

Cheryl began to run. Harry ran after her as fast as he could, but he was losing her in the fog. Just as he thought he had lost sight of her, he stopped at the mouth of an alley and glanced down it. Cheryl stood ten feet away in the fog, looking at him. Then she turned and continued down the alley. Harry made chase.

He lost sight of her again but caught a glimpse of her turning left at the end of the alley. He heard a gate squeaking, and followed her past a sign that warned Harry away with the threat of a dog and a KEEP OUT sign.

The sight that awaited him on the other side made him come to a grinding halt. The side of the nearby garage and the ground in front of him was soaked in congealing blood. A ribcage that appeared to have been savagely torn from its owner lay in the middle of it all. Child-size bloody footprints led further down the alley. Swallowing the bile that had risen in his gorge, Harry sidestepped the carnage and continued deeper into the alley. He began to hear clanking sounds, a hollow metal-on-metal sound. He began to feel dizzy, and was walking into the wall and he followed the alley in curves and twists that made no logical sense. He reached another gate and passed through it.

On the other side, a broken wheelchair stood in the corner as the alley curved again. The wheel, badly bent, was still spinning.

Harry jumped as the air was suddenly pierced with the klaxon of a siren that sounded oddly like an air-raid siren from those old war movies. As Harry looked around, confused, the sky began to darken. Before he could react, he was standing in absolute darkness. He reached into his jacket and pulled out his old lighter. He had quit smoking years ago, but he had kept the lighter in case he ever needed it for anything. Hindsight is everything.

"Better than nothing, I guess." He mumbled, and continued into the darkness.

After the next couple of twists and turns he stumbled across a hospital gurney with a human shape covered in a sheet. The abdomen was stabbed at and mutilated with what looked like a scalpel. Harry walked past it, trying not to look. He stepped into a drying pool of blood, swallowed bile again and pushed onward.

As he reached the end, he just stared straight at his feet, not wanting to see what he was sure was more gore, and saw on the ground a coil of intestines. It lead out of his line of vision. Dreading it but needing to look, he followed it to the wall, which was covered in barbed wire. He followed it up past a pair of skinless legs and thighs to a human body, stripped entirely of its skin. It was entwined in the wire, and the skull was exposed. The eyes had been scooped out of their sockets and were nowhere in sight.

"What on earth? What's going on here?" In shock, unable to come up with anything better, Harry mumbled out loud.

He wheeled around as he thought he heard an insect chirp. What he saw was much worse. Some sort of humanoid lizard, which was roughly the size and build of a human child, stumbled towards him in the darkness. It had no eyes, nose or ears, and its skin was leathery and green. In it's three-clawed hand it held a butcher knife. Unable to react at the sight of this abomination, Harry watched dumbly as it screamed and threw itself at him. It stuck its knife deep into Harry's thigh. As the pain reached his brain, Harry yelled out and struggled away from the creature., who let go of the knife, leaving it standing straight up in his leg. As he limped away, he saw another one shamble out from where he had entered from. It, too, held a knife. He backed away from the both of them, and felt a sharp pain scream across his back. He yelled out again and fell forward, rolling around to see another one holding a dripping knife. As he crawled blindly backwards away, he remembered the other creature as it impaled his hand with the ground with its knife. Reacting out of pure instinct, Harry pulled his hand towards him, causing the knife to split his hand open from the palm to the space in between his middle and ring finger.

He stumbled to his feet and, ignoring the pain, ran past the creature still struggling to pull its knife out of the concrete. as he passed the gurney again, he ran straight into a row of bars that blocked further escape.

This wasn't here before! Harry's mind screamed. Turning back, he saw the three creatures walking towards him. Two of them held knives, while the third just walked towards him with its arms at its sides.

Praying to God for mercy, and praying for Cheryl's life, Harry slid sobbing down onto the ground. Looking past the monsters, he swore he saw Cheryl standing behind them, looking blankly at him. As he reached out pleadingly at her, she turned and walked into the darkness one last time. He blinked, and when his eyes opened again he saw it wasn't Cheryl at all. It was the girl he had swerved to avoid hitting on the highway.

His arm was still reaching out to her, and the nearest creature swiped its knife downwards, opening his wrist up in a torrent of blood. At this, all three of them leapt

on him, knives and claws flaying him into ribbons of flesh, muscle and bone.Cheryl......

August 21, 1983

Brahms, Idaho

Brahms Police Department

6:17 PM

"Okay, that's it. Hold it right there. This is too much." O'Grady pressed his eyes with his palms. He had a headache. "Snow in Silent Hill? I was there earlier today, there's no snow on the ground. And reptilian demons? That's ridiculous! And now you're trying to convince me that you were slaughtered by these things?"

Harry pleaded with O'Grady with his eyes. "I know it sounds really out there, but you have to believe me. I know what happened to me."

"I am willing to give you a chance to explain yourself, but you can't possibly have been attacked like that. You're sitting right here in front of me, and your only wound is that bullet in your shoulder."

"I am just as confused about that myself, believe me. And my story gets even worse from here. But you must hear me out."

O'Grady opened his mouth to protest, but decided against it. Amidst his obviously schizophrenic ramblings he might be able to glean some kind of truth from it. "Okay. I'll bite. Continue."

"Just as I was sure I was dead, I lost all my sense of reality and found myself waking up, perfectly healthy, on a booth in a café. As I remembered what had just happened to me, I sat up, startled......"

August 20, 1983

Silent Hill, Idaho

Café 5.2

10:39 AM

Once again. Pressure. Pain. Is this death?, he wondered. His eyes fluttered open, and he saw not angels singing, nor the fires of Hell. He saw a light fixture and a window with the blinds drawn.

The children. The children with knives.

Harry sat up so fast he nearly fell off the booth he was laying on. He looked around frantically for any sign of the children. He saw nothing. He then heard the steady "click click click" of footsteps coming towards him. He saw a shape walking towards him. He squinted in the dim light to try and see it.

She walked into the light from the window in the door. Short, blonde hair, closely cropped to her scalp. She crossed her arms and titled her head at him, her expression unchanging. He took in the blue shirt, the badge, and finally, the holster hung on her jutting hips.

He swung his feet around to the floor, and held his aching head in his hands. The policewoman said nothing, let him get himself oriented. She simply walked over to the counter and seated herself on one of the stools.

After a few moments, Harry's brain began to quiet. "Was I dreaming?", he muttered to himself.

Finally, the cop spoke up. "How are you feeling?"

Harry gave her a bitter smile. "Like I've been run over by a truck, but I'm alright, I guess."

"Glad to hear it."

Harry looked up at her, and they stared at each other in silence for a few minutes.

Hey, she's the cop who passed me on the highway last night, he realized. Before he could ask her what had happened to her, she asked: "What's your name?"

"Harry......Harry Mason."

"Cybil Bennett. I'm a police officer from Brahms, the next town over." Harry said nothing in reply. "You from around here? Why don't you tell me what happened?"

Harry looked up at Cybil. She had a suspicious look in her eyes that he found strangely threatening. "Hey, wait a second. I'm just a tourist, in town on vacation. I just got here." Not exactly the truth, but he really didn't feel like explaining everything to her. He didn't even understand himself. Cybil nodded.

"Have you seen a little girl?" He asked hopefully. "Just turned seven last month. Short, black hair." Cybil stared back at him with a puzzled expression but said nothing. "My daughter." He explained.

Cybil mouthed "Ah" and then shook her head. "Sorry, the only person I've seen in this town is you. The whole town is completely deserted."

"What's going on in this town?"

"I'd tell you if I knew, believe me. But from what I can tell, something bizarre is going on. The phones are all dead, and the radio too. I'm going back to call in some reinforcements."

Enough of this. She doesn't know anything. I have to find Cheryl. Harry stood up quickly and started for the door.

"Hold it!" Cybil remained seated but the tone of her voice halted Harry in his tracks. "Where do you think you're going?"

"My daughter. I've gotta find her!"

At this Cybil stood up. "No way! It's dangerous out there!"

Harry glared back at her. "In that case, I have to find her _now_. Cheryl's my little girl!"

Cybil's eyes softened a bit. "Have you got a gun?"

Harry swallowed uncomfortably. Why would he need a gun? Those creatures were just in his dream, right? "Um.......no."

"Then take this, and hope you don't have to use it." As he watched in horror, she stepped forward, took a gun out of her holster and held it out to him. Were cops supposed to give civilians guns, even in a ghost town like this? "Remember, before you pull the trigger, know who you're shooting. And don't go blasting me by mistake."

"Uh.....thanks, I guess." He checked the clip, it was full. She had just handed him a loaded gun.

"You'd do best to stay nearby. I'll be back with help as quick as I can."

And with that, she was gone. Harry stared after her, open-mouthed, then shoved the gun in his back pocket and, just to be safe, locked the café's door.

August 21, 1983

Brahms, Idaho

Brahms Police Department

6:29 PM

Harry stopped at this point, as since the mention of Cybil's name, O'Grady had turned white as a sheet and was sweating profusely. O'Grady shook his head, pressed his palms to his eyes, and cleared his throat. "So, uh, Cybil gave you a gun, you say?"

"Yes, she did. Cops don't usually...."

"No, they don't."

"But she did. She must have known..."

O'Grady held up his hand. "That's enough, Mr. Mason. You cannot possibly have met Cybil in Silent Hill yesterday."

"Why not?"

O'Grady took a deep breath. "Cybil Bennett has been missing and presumed dead for seven years now."

It was as if someone had dropped ice down Harry's shirt or something. He pushed back from the table and stood up, knocking over his chair. "What?!"

O'Grady quickly ran through the details of her disappearance. Harry picked up his chair and collapsed into it. "You found her motorcycle crashed?"

"Looked like it."

Harry shut his eyes. "Shit. Well, that explains what I saw, then."

"Enough of this garbage!" O'Grady shouted. "I don't know how you found out all the details about Cybil, but there's no way she's still around. Someone would have seen her! We searched everywhere for her!"

"I know what I saw, okay?"

"Fine, then. When you left Silent Hill, where was Cybil?"

Harry rubbed his temples. "She was with me."

"And where is she now?"

"I.....I don't know. I thought she was right with me and the baby, but I turned around and she was just......gone."

O'Grady decided to see if Mason had any physical proof of Cybil's involvement in what had supposedly happened the day before. "What happened to that gun she gave you?"

"I dropped it after your officer shot me." Harry jerked his head towards his bandaged shoulder. "And for your information, I wasn't planning on attacking them."

"What were you planning on doing?"

"I was trying to escape from this nightmare. You shouldn't have stopped me."

August 21, 1983

Highway 37, Idaho

Near Silent Hill

7:33 PM

After Harry had informed O'Grady that the gun he had that was supposedly Cybil's had been dropped back on the highway, he had called Pollack and asked him to take him back to the spot on the highway where it had all gone down. It wasn't that he forgot where it was, he just didn't want to go alone. Mason's story had managed to spook him.

But he's just a maniac, right? He couldn't possibly be telling the truth.....

O'Grady got out of the cruiser and ordered Pollack to stay there. He walked over to the bloodstain on the highway (either left from the skinless baby or Harry's bullet wound, or both) and cursed.

Lying there on the pavement was the gun. It was a Parabellum 9mm.

The same make as Cybil's service pistol.

Calm down, George. 9mm pistols are far from rare. This means nothing.

But something told him his fears were sound.

He pulled his ball-point out of his chest pocket and picked up the pistol with it through the trigger-guard. Pollack must have been watching closely, because at that moment he appeared at O'Grady's side with a baggie.

Seconds later, they were on their way back to Brahms.

August 21, 1983

Brahms, Idaho

Brahms Police Department

8:47 PM

O'Grady had been searching for 7 minutes through the files on the officers who were on the force from past to present before he finally found Cybil's file. He scanned to page for the serial number of Cybil's service pistol.

When he found it, he nearly passed out.

It matched the gun he had just found.

Harry jumped when O'Grady suddenly appeared and banged his fist hard on the cell door.

"You! You tell me just what the fuck is going on here, now!"

Harry guessed that O'Grady had probably went out to get Cybil's gun. "Are you ready to start believing me, now?"

"Where in the world did you get your hands on Cybil's gun?"

"I told you."

"TELL ME THE TRUTH!" O'Grady roared. Two officers nearby looked up, surprised at their boss's outburst, but quickly looked away.

"I told you the truth! Now, are you willing to let me finish my story?"

O'Grady shut his eyes and rubbed at his temples. "Fine."

"Thank you. After Cybil left the diner, I wandered around the place for a couple of minutes. I was understandably agitated. I couldn't wait any longer. I had to find Cheryl, and fast. But something in my head told me not to leave yet....."

August 20, 1983

Silent Hill, Idaho

Café 5.2

10:49 AM

Harry turned and walked over to the broken pinball machine on the far side of the room. It was plugged in, and there was no "Out Of Order" sign on it, but it just wouldn't work. He tried the TV set on the other side of the café. Also broken. Placed on the counter in front of the TV was a butcher knife and a small bottle of herbal medicine. He pocketed the knife and the bottle on a whim.

On the table behind him was a small red pocket radio. Harry turned it on and wasn't surprised at all to find that it was broken. Cybil had said the radio was out already. But what about the pinball machine and the TV? Was the power out too? There was definitely something going on here.

He thought he had seen a map of the town on the counter over by the pinball machine, and sure enough there was. As he examined the map, he noticed the name of the town. It read Old Silent Hill. He had made it to their destination after all. This town didn't look new at all, though. How in the world had he missed it back when he was in the cemetary with Carolyn? Harry pushed the thought from his mind and looked back to the counter, where was also a yellow flashlight that Harry put in his breast pocket. As he did this, he thought he saw something outside the window move out of the corner of his eye.

What was that? He headed for the door, and was turning the knob when a loud, piercing shriek sounded to his right.

"Huh?" It was the radio. "What's going on with that radio? Is there a signal getting through?" He walked over and picked it up. Wait a minute, this makes no sense! he thought. The power button on the radio was still set to OFF.

The window on the other side of the café exploded inwards. Harry dropped the knife and wheeled around. Nothing. Then the window directly behind him exploded in a flurry of huge leathery wings. Something pecked him, hard, in the back of his neck. He dove to the ground and rolled under the table.

With a squawk, the thing lighted on the ground. Harry peered out at it from under the table, not believing what he was seeing.

It looked to him like a kind of skinless pterodactyl, or at least that's as close to a recognizable beast as it was. It was about four feet tall, with a long, pointed nose and mouth filled with what appeared to be razor blades instead of teeth. Harry felt the back of his neck. Wet. He looked at his bloody hand. He hadn't been pecked, he had been sliced. It had a long, sinewy body with short legs and fierce-looking talons. It's wings were folded under its tiny arms now, but Harry had caught a glimpse of its wings before he had been bitten and concluded its wings appeared to be like those of an oversized bat. It had small, black eyes which seemed to be oozing some kind of viscous fluid. It was covered in horrid veins that bulged out of its skin.

Without thinking, he pulled out the gun Cybil had given him and randomly fired four shots. Two of these hit the bird-thing, one in the chest and one through its head. It squeaked once before collapsing face-down on the floor.

Harry crawled out from under the table and inched towards the bird. He nudged it with the tip of his shoe. He was pretty sure it was dead.

"What the hell is this?! This is not a dream! What's happening to this place?"

Harry then felt sick. He lunged for the door but was too slow. He threw up all over the floor and collapsed, trembling, into the booth he had woken up on.

He closed his eyes and waited until he felt strong enough to get up again. He could still hear a faint buzzing from the radio. It had gone off right before the bird had attacked. Did it somehow sound when something was nearby? He didn't know if there were any more of these things in town, but it couldn't hurt to take it. He strode past the bird without looking at it, grabbed the radio, and shoved it into his jacket pocket next to the flashlight.

He then turned to the door as the bird suddenly clamped its jaws onto his ankle. Startled, the bird sunk it's razor teeth into his foot before he could react. Harry shouted as the pain reached his brain. Without thinking, he kicked viciously at the bird until it let go of his foot.

He realized he had kicked it so hard that his foot had become stuck in its side. He pulled his foot out and examined his injured ankle. The bird hadn't done much damage, it was mostly a flesh wound. He pulled out the bottle of medicine and poured some on the wound.

He was now pretty sure that the bird was dead. But he wasn't taking any chances. He ran for the door and plunged out into the foggy streets of Silent Hill.

August 20, 1983

Silent Hill, Idaho

Bachman Road

11:01 AM

Harry ran a safe distance away from the café and opened his map. He had no idea where to go or what to do now. He found the café on the map and realized he was just south of where he had crashed his car. Or, at least, he was pretty sure he had crashed his car. He wasn't sure if the alley incident had even happened.

He ran up the street and stopped when he saw it. His Jeep, just as he had left it when he had spotted Cheryl through the fog.

So maybe the alley thing had happened.

He had an idea now. He didn't like it one bit, but he was going to go and check that alley again. If Cheryl had gone down there, who knows what could have happened to her? Maybe he wasn't too late.....

He checked the gun. Eleven bullets left. He needed to be careful. Or maybe he was worrying for nothing. He still wasn't sure if those kid-things had been real.

_The bird sure as hell had been real._

He shivered and turned from his wrecked car. The radio began screaming. He heard the flapping of wings.

_Oh shit._

He flung himself to the ground as the bird bit dove for his neck. His grip slipped as he was bringing the gun up to fire at the bird. The gun flew out of his hands and flew past the bird and slid under his Jeep. The bird watched it as it went, then turned and flew at him again.

Harry grabbed for the knife and slashed the bird as it flew by him. It screamed and flew away into the fog.

The radio went silent.

Harry reached under his car, retrieved his gun, and ran as fast as he could, retracing his steps back to the alley. Passing through the gate, he saw that the ribcage was still there. He held the gun out stiffly in front of him as he neared the second gate. Good. There was the wheelchair, just as he had remembered it. But they sky wasn't going dark. No air raid sirens either. The radio was silent. Very good. Or maybe it didn't pick up the kid-things. He rounded the corner and found himself at the end of the alley. The wall in front of him had a small break in it small enough for Cheryl to have slipped through. He crouched down and peered through the hole. It led to a street behind it.

But he was sure he had walked much farther than this before coming to that skinless corpse. How was this possible? What had been imagined and what was real?

He then noticed what he was kneeling by. It was Cheryl's sketchbook. There was one page torn out and held in place on the ground with a rock. Written on it in red crayon (or at least he hoped it was red crayon) was "To School".

Harry opened his map. There it was, down in the bottom-left corner of the map: Midwich Elementary School. Was Cheryl there? The quickest way there would be to go out the alley the way he came, turn left on Finney Street, and then he'd be on Midwich Street. From there he could simply walk south until he reached the school.

Before he stood up, he saw a 3-foot-long piece of rusted steel pipe that was wrenched from the wall and lay on the ground near the sketchbook. He decided to take it. He was almost out of bullets and the knife wasn't much protection. He hooked it through a belt loop on his jeans. He could carry it like that.

It was time to get going.

He left the alley without incident, which unnerved him rather that comforted him. He turned left and started down Finney Street, but he didn't get very far before he came to a complete stop and stared, disbelieving, at what he saw.

Or _didn't see_, rather. The road in front of him disappeared into a huge chasm in the ground. He peered over the edge but couldn't see the bottom. He couldn't see anything more in front of him either. It was as if a chunk of the town had fallen right off the planet.

Well, he wasn't going to get to the school this way. He turned back and decided to go around the chasm by going south on Levin Street, and then turning onto Matheson. From there, he would reach Midwich Street easily.

When he was halfway down Levin Street to Matheson, he saw a dog house outside of one of the big Victorian-style houses that lined the street like silent staring faces. He heard a small whimpering noise inside it. He crouched down to peer into it as the radio suddenly went off. Harry stood up, startled by the noise. This saved his life as the dog flew out of the dog house and past where Harry's neck had been just seconds ago.

Two bullets later, the dog lay dead on the street. Harry stood with the gun still pointed at its motionless form.

_Oh, my God. I just killed someone's dog._

Harry looked towards the house. He hadn't seen anyone in town, but he was sure any moment some child would run out of the house crying. He turned back to the dog and knelt next to it. Upon closer inspection, he saw that this was no normal dog. Like the bird, it appeared skinless. Its teeth were canine, as was its head shape, but that was all. Its open eyes were reptilian. Its lower jaw stuck out way in front of its nose, which appeared like that of a crocodile.

He bounded up the stairs and hammered on the door. No one came. But the car was still in the driveway. Where was the owner of the house?

He gave up and ran to the corner of Matheson and Levin. He nearly wept when he saw there was yet another chasm separating Midwich from him. It was as if something was trying to keep him away from the school.

There was a small pool of blood and two sheets of sketchbook paper at the edge of the chasm. One said "Dog House", the other "Levin St.".

Harry spun around and sprinted back to the house, his heart racing. Had Cheryl gone there and been hurt by the dog? Maybe it had been her who had been whimpering, not the dog.

He screamed her name over and over, but got no response. He started towards the dog house, accidentally stepped on the dog, and nearly threw up. He stepped over it, knelt down, and peered inside. There was nothing inside besides a whole lot of blood. It was dry, though, so it couldn't be Cheryl's, thank God.

So what did Cheryl mean with her message? He stuck his head into the dog house and looked up. Taped to the underside of the roof was a key.

The radio went off. Harry bumped his head pulling it out of the dog house. He didn't need to look to know that the dog had gotten up. He ran for the front door of the house, jammed the key into the lock, and twisted it hard. He slammed the door with his back and felt the impact of the lunging dog.

After his heart stopped heaving in his chest, he turned and surveyed the small hallway he stood in. There were coats on the coat rack and three pairs of shoes lined up neatly on a mat next to the door, a man's, woman's, and small girl's. Maybe they were still here.

He tried the first door he came to, down the hall a bit to his right. It was locked. He continued down the hallway into the cramped kitchen. The table was set but there was no food on the plates. A good-sized TV was facing the table. It was broken.

A creaking sound brought Harry back to the door in the hallway. The door stood open. Inside he found a comfortable looking sitting room. A bookshelf took up the entire wall to his left. He scanned the spines. Mostly books on theology and philosophy. There was one tome that caught his eye. It was a thick, leather-bound volume with a strange symbol on the cover. There was no title. He flipped it open to a full-page painting of a woman being suspended upside-down on what appeared to be a bedframe. She was screaming. Two figures stood behind her wearing bizarre pointed metal hoods on their heads. They held spears, and one had one up ready to impale the woman. The caption read "Foggy Day, Fulfillment Of The Judgement". Repulsed, he put the book back on the shelf.

He saw a photo album open on the coffee table. He looked at a photo of two smiling little girls. Someone had written above where it was pasted on the page "Claudia and Alessa". Harry gasped as he peered at one of the little girls. It was Cheryl. _No, wait_. It wasn't Cheryl. The nose was bigger and the eyes were a different color. But the resemblance was uncanny.

"Alessa," Harry whispered. The girl who looked like Cheryl was underneath the name. It resonated in his mind for some reason.

He left the room with the eerie feeling someone was watching him. He headed for the back door. According to his map, the backyard of the house opened into an alley that could lead him past the chasms to Midwich.

The backyard was small, with a small table and two chairs cramped into the corner at his right. A tree took up most of the yard. The gate leading into the alley was stuck. Harry kicked it open as an air raid siren pierced the air.

_Oh, no! just like the alley before!_

Harry pulled out his gun and spun wildly in a circle as the sky darkened completely.

The radio remained silent. Harry clicked on his flashlight and ran like hell to the end of the alley onto the street. He was on the other side of the chasm on Matheson.

As he turned onto Midwich, the radio began screaming. Harry saw three dogs and two birds heading right for him. He didn't have enough ammo to take them all on. Desperate, he switched off the flashlight and ran forward. He heard the birds pass by him and nearly tripped over one of the dogs. He continued running until the radio went quiet again. He turned the flashlight back on and was pleasantly surprised to see the school just ahead of him.

The heavy wooden doors creaked as he opened them.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

August 20, 1983

Silent Hill, Idaho

Midwich Elementary School

11:42 AM

Someone (Cheryl?) had been kind enough to leave a map of the school folded neatly on a bench next to the doors inside the foyer. Harry stuffed it into his pocket with the other map. He entered the hallway and headed to his left to the reception area.

Maybe some people had survived and were taking refuge here in the school. Maybe they were protecting Cheryl. Maybe they knew what those creatures were and what was going on in the town.

His hopes were upset by the sight of the blood-stained books open on the reception desk. Upon closer inspection, they contained bizarre messages. The first one read: "**10 00 Alchemy laboratory. Gold in old mans palm. The future hidden in his fist. Exchange for Sages water**." The second: "**12 00 A place with songs and sounds. A silver guidepost is Untapped in lost tongues. Awakening at the ordained order**." And the third: "**5 00 Darkness that brings the choking heat. Flames render the silence awakening the hungry Beast. Open times door to beckon prey.**"

Unnerved, Harry entered the door behind the counter into the teacher's lounge. He closed the door carefully behind him, turned around and screamed.

Taking up the entire right wall was a grotesque painting depicting a rusty (at least, he _thought _it was rust) door with two bodies, clad in strait-jackets, bolted to the wall besides the door. Their faces were gone, and their skulls grinned eerily at Harry with unblinking eyes.

_What the hell is this thing doing in an elementary school?_

Harry went back into the hallway and tried the doors on both ends of the hallway, which were, of course, both locked. He saw on his map that there was an infirmary behind the other single door, and a small courtyard behind the double doors. He decided to see if there was anything useful in the infirmary first. The door was thankfully unlocked, but the room was sparse at best. An uncomfortable-looking cot, a table, and a shelf was all that was in the room.

The shelf contained some bottles of peroxide, which Harry took, as well as some bandages. He bandaged up his wounded ankle, pocketed the rest of them, and headed for the courtyard.

Harry played his flashlight beam around the small area in wonder. There was nothing there, besides four benches and a tree. There were no swings, no slide, not even a basketball net. What did the children do on break, just stand around?

Harry turned to his right and saw that there was something else in the courtyard after all. A clock tower rose into the sky. He walked a little bit closer to it, and stopped when he thought he heard a sniffle from behind the small door on its front.

"Hello? Is someone there?"

".....Daddy?" a small voice, muffled by the thick stone door, but Harry knew it was Cheryl.

"Cheryl!" Harry pulled on the door, and pushed, but the door held fast. It was locked. He looked around madly for another way in. There was none. He turned back to the door. There was no keyhole. How was he supposed to get it open? Then he noticed two oval hollows on each side of the door. One read "A Golden Sun", the other "A Silver Moon". Was something supposed to go in them? Maybe that would unlock the door.

But where could he find them? He shone his flashlight up at the clock face. The time read ten o'clock. Wait, that wasn't right. Harry checked his watch. It was a few minutes after noon. Then he remembered the bloody message at the reception desk. Maybe the oval objects could be found where they led him.

But what did the alchemy laboratory mean? Alchemy was an ancient magic, certainly nothing that would be found in a school. Well, he supposed it could mean the science lab. The school was bound to have one. He checked his map. There it was, on the second floor.

"Cheryl, hold on, I'll be right back!" He ran to the double doors opposite the ones he came in from. Maybe he could reach the staircase from there.

He pushed the door open and stepped into the hall. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and stumbled backwards as a knife swept through the air. One of those things he had seen in the alley stood before him.

_So it wasn't a dream!_

The creature simply stood and stared at him for a few seconds, a low rumbling sound coming from its mouth. It was almost like a kind of mumbling. Before the zombie child could move, Harry pulled the pipe out of his belt and swung it fiercely at the side of its head. It connected with a thud, and its head smashed into the wall. It then collapsed. Harry knew a blow like that should have killed it, but after the bird incident earlier, he decided to make good and sure it was dead. He held the pipe over his head, and then swung it down into the zombie child's body once, twice, again. He continued swinging it until the creature was reduced to a bloody pulp on the floor.

Panting, he replaced the now-dripping pipe into his belt and headed for the west door. It was unlocked. He went through it and turned right and sprinted up the stairs.

Inside the science lab, he saw it. A statue of an old man's hand. A small golden medal was gasped in its hand.

_A Golden Sun....._

Harry picked it up and smashed it as hard as he could against the edge of the counter. Nothing. He tried it again, and again, but to no avail.

_.....exchange for sage's water....._

What the hell did that mean? Maybe there was some kind of acid he could use to eat away the hand. But what if it ate away the medal itself? It was a chance he had to take.

The lab equipment room was right next door to the lab. Harry searched the shelves. There were some creepy-looking lab specimens in jars, some bottles of peroxide, some empty bottles. There it was! HCl, hydrochloric acid. Harry picked up the bottle as a zombie child leapt from its perch on top of the cabinet. It landed on Harry's back and sent him sprawling to the floor. Scrambling to his feet, Harry ran for the door. He didn't look back as he slammed the door.

Back inside the lab, he carefully poured a small amount of HCl on the hand. It dissolved away easily. Miraculously, the medal was unharmed. Harry took the medal from the goo that was once the hand and pocketed it.

Back in the courtyard, Harry popped the medal into the Golden Sun slot. He looked up as the hour hand moved to 12 o'clock. Now he needed to find the Silver Moon.

_A place of songs and sounds......_

Harry checked the map again. The music room was on the second floor, near the front of the building.

He returned to the second floor and headed down the west hallway. As he entered the hallway where the music room door was located, he saw the other door down the hallway to his right close. According to his map, it was the locker room.

_Locker room? What do they need a locker room for? There's no gym in this school, if this map is correct._

Harry walked past the music room and entered the locker room, his gun drawn. Inside, he heard a thumping sound. He walked around the lockers to the other side of the room. One of the locker doors was shaking, as if something was trapped inside it. Unable to repress his curiosity, he carefully reached out and touched the locker door.

The door then flew open and something jumped screaming at Harry. He screamed, then realized it was just a cat. It ran out of sight, and Harry heard the creaking of the door as it pushed it open. Harry cursed himself for not closing the door more firmly. Who knew what other things were in the school?

As if in response to this thought, Harry then heard a crunch and the angry squealing of the cat. Harry ran to the door and peered out into the hallway. A zombie child had the squirming cat in its claws, and was tearing chunks out of its back with its teeth.

Harry shoved the gun out of the crack in the door and fired three bullets into the zombie child's head. It dropped the cat and fell backwards, dead.

Harry stepped out into the hallway and walked over to the still-writhing cat. He aimed his gun down, shut his eyes, and put it out of its misery.

The music room was a small room with a baby grand piano wedged into the back of the room. A small section of the keys were stained with blood. High up on the wall, Harry saw a silver medallion fixed in a plaque. He dragged the piano bench to the wall underneath it and stepped up onto it. He tried prying it out, but it wouldn't budge.

As he jumped back down to the floor, he saw a large piece of paper taped to the blackboard. It was a musical score for something, but someone had scrawled a message on it in blood: "A tale of birds without a voice' First flew the greedy Pelican White wings flailing eager for the reward. Then came a silent Dove, flying beyond the pelican, As far as he could. A Raven flies in, flying higher from The Dove, just to show he can. A Swan glides in to find a peaceful spot, Next to another bird. Finally, out comes a Crow, Coming quickly to a stop yawning and the napping. Who will show the way? Who will be the key? Who will tend to the silver reward?"

_Is this referring to the piano? Do I have to play something? But I don't know how to play the piano!_

Harry looked back at the piano and stared at the bloody keys. _Maybe I'm only supposed to play those keys. _Hesitantly, he walked over to the piano. He pushed each of the bloody keys, and was surprised to find that many of them made no sound.

_A tale of birds without a voice! That's it! These are the ones I'm supposed to play!_ _And those birds refer to either black or white keys!_

First he had to figure out where the pelican went. It was greedy, but its wings are flailing, so it can't have gotten very far. So maybe it's on the second white key. Harry pressed it. The dove was next, and went as far as it could. The sixth white key was the farthest white key that made no sound. He pressed it. Next the raven, a black bird, flies higher than the dove. There was a silent black key just above the dove's key. He pressed it. Now there were only two silent keys left, a black and a white. The swan was next, so it must be the last white key, followed by the final black key for the crow.

The medallion fell out of the plaque and landed on the floor with a thump. With a sigh of relief, Harry snatched it up and ran back to the courtyard. He shoved it into the Silver Moon slot and tugged on the door. It was still locked.

_Shit! I got both medallions! What else can I do?_

Then he remembered that there had been three clues in the lobby. What had it said again? Darkness that brings the choking heat. Did it refer to the basement? The door leading to the hallway in the lobby was locked. Maybe he could reach it from the door in the hallway where the zombie kid had ambushed him.

In the hallway, the zombie kid was nowhere to be found. _How is that possible? I smashed that thing to pulp! There isn't even any blood on the floor anymore. _He scanned the hallway and saw no sign of it. Ignoring the nervous flutter in his stomach, he tried the door at the end of the hall. It was open. Running now, Harry almost fell down the stairs as he headed for the basement.

There were only two doors down here, one that was locked that led into a storage room and one that led into the boiler room. There was nothing in the room except for a lot of pipes and valves that Harry had no idea what their function was, and a large generator that thankfully had one button on the front, which obviously turned it on.

He pushed the button, and as the ancient machine struggled to start itself up, a low, throaty growl sounded from right behind him. Gun ready, Harry spun around and looked around the room, his heart pounding. However, as far as he could see, he was alone in the room. And that was well enough for him, he thought as he left the room.

Back in the courtyard, Harry was delighted to find the door in the clock tower was finally open. Opening the heavy door, he was surprised to find Cheryl was nowhere to be seen. In fact, nothing was to be seen. The room was empty save for a ladder leading downwards into darkness.

_But I heard her in here. She must have gone down that ladder._

Harry took a few tentative steps into the room. "Cheryl?" He got down on his knees and shone the light down the ladder. He couldn't see the bottom. "Cheryl? Are you down there, honey? Answer me!"

He nearly fell down the hole when he heard the giggle from behind him. He turned his head, and saw her. Standing just outside the clock tower door. "Cheryl!"

She just grinned and slammed the door shut.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

August 20, 1983

Silent Hill, Idaho

Midwich Elementary School

12:09 PM

When he had opened the door, it had opened inwards. Harry found no handle on the inside with which he could pull it open. He hammered on the door and screamed out for Cheryl to open the door.

_What the hell has gotten into her?!_

"Cheryl, you have to listen to me! You have to open this door! Something is wrong with this town, there are weird creatures all over the place! It's dangerous! I need to protect you! Please open the door! Please!"

Nothing. The only thing he could hear was some sort of scratching sound.

Defeated, he turned back to the ladder and reluctantly began to descend it. Maybe he could find a way out down here.

He must have been climbing down for a good four minutes before he reached the bottom. The floor wasn't even a floor at all, but a metal grid suspended over even more darkness.

_What is this place?_

Harry started forward. The grid was littered with countless liquor bottles and medicine capsules. Puzzled about the presence of these items in a clock tower at an elementary school, Harry continued walking for about a hundred feet until he reached another ladder. If his mental geography was right, this would lead up to somewhere outside the school grounds.

_I need to get back to Cheryl._

He quickly ascended the ladder, which led up fairly the same distance as the other ladder had led down. At the top, Harry found himself in a small room completely identical to the one he had become trapped in, save for a handle on the inside of the stone door before him, which he pulled open.

It was raining hard, so it took Harry a few bewildered seconds to realize that he was back in the school courtyard.

_Have I been here before? Yes! This is....But how can that be? I went straight that way. It's not possible for me to be back here._

The scratching sound flew back into Harry's mind as he surveyed the strange symbol carved into the courtyard path at his feet.

_This symbol.......it's the same one that was on that book in the house.....Did Cheryl do this? Why....?_

A frenzied roar pierced the air and was soon followed by the sound of someone banging hard on a piano. It sounded like it was coming from the music room. The screaming and the banging continued in scattered intervals. Harry tried to shut out the noise but couldn't. He ran for the double doors leading to the school entrance was slammed into the door.

It didn't budge. He went sprawling backwards onto the concrete. _Shit! Something locked the door!_

Harry turned for the opposite doors to see two zombie children making their way towards him, scalpels gripped in their claws. He aimed his gun and pulled the trigger. The monster that was closest to him didn't even cry out as the bullet punched a hole in its chest. It shrugged off two more bullets before the third one blew its head off its shoulders. Turning to the other creature, which was almost upon him, he fired once into its leg and ran past where it fell. He stopped a short distance away and turned back to the thing, which was getting up. He pulled the trigger. Nothing. He was out of ammo.

"No....."

The zombie child squeaked at him, and then jumped into the air towards him.

Harry flew through the double doors behind him and slammed them shut. Panting, he turned around and nearly choked. The hallway was completely transformed. The walls had been dingy before, but now they were downright filthy. They were all cracked and covered in either rust, blood, or a mixture of both. The floors were now covered in that grid material from the clock tower, and the floor itself was nowhere to be seen.

Two squeaks sounded from both his left and his right. Two zombie children were making their way down both sides of the hall towards him. He couldn't fight two of them with the pipe or the knife, so he headed quickly through the doors in front of him into what, if he remembered the map right, led to the back door of the school.

There was no door in this room. Where it should have been, a giant rusty fan spun around in a circle, but Harry felt no wind from it. The doors behind him flew open, knocking Harry onto his face dangerously close to the fan. Pushing himself up with his arms, he twisted around to see the two zombie creatures in the doorway.

_Oh, fuck......_

Harry was barely able to yank the pipe from his belt as one flew through the air towards him. Shutting his eyes, he swung the pipe upwards, catching the still-airborne creature in the groin and lifting it up and over his head into the fan blades. When Harry opened his eyes, it was all over the room. The other zombie child cocked its head at a piece of what used to be its companion that had landed near its feet, then chirped and retreated out of sight.

Harry got unsteadily to his feet, suppressing the urge to vomit, and began to make his way to the door. He stopped when he saw what was on the bench to his right. Three boxes of handgun bullets stacked neatly on top of each other. He grabbed one, opened it, and reloaded his gun. The other two went into his vest pocket.

He needed to find Cheryl as fast as he could and get the hell out of here. But where could she be? Was that her bashing on the piano upstairs? He remembered the screaming that accompanied the piano, and decided against it. All he could do was check every room.

August 20, 1983

Silent Hill, Idaho

Midwich Elementary School

12:29 PM

Out of breath, Harry scratched out another room on the map. He had checked everywhere he could on the first floor, but access to the east hallway and basement were locked. Upstairs, he found a large mesh gate blocking access to the music room and locker room, as well as the washrooms.

_Well, I can't go any further this way._

Access to the east hallway was also barred; the double doors in the north hallway was jammed and the library reserve room was locked.

He returned back downstairs and headed down the west hallway, hoping to find a way to the entrance. A locked mesh gate blocked access to the washrooms on this floor, too. He found the double doors leading into the entrance hallway was locked, but thankfully the deadbolt could be opened on his side.

The reception desk was now blocked off by a mesh gate, and Harry could see that the books containing the clues he had used to unlock the clock tower were now missing. He entered the teacher's lounge, and wasn't exactly surprised to see that the grotesque painting that had been on the wall before now _was_ the wall. He pushed the door open and stood before the washrooms. He passed the boy's washroom and headed for the girl's washroom.

_Cheryl wouldn't have any reason to go in the boy's washroom._

Harry stopped and went back to the boy's room. Cheryl wasn't exactly acting normal right then. Nothing was. He had to check everywhere.

There was only one stall in the bathroom. He stepped forward, pipe in hand, ready to take down anything that attacked. With a deep breath, he quickly pushed the door inward. Crucified crudely to the wall above the toilet was the skinless body of a young boy. Swallowing the bile that rose in his throat, Harry shone the light around the stall, searching for something he could use. He certainly found it. A shotgun was propped up against the wall under a message scrawled in blood. It read, simply: "Leonard Rhine: The Monster Lurks".

Having no idea what this was supposed to mean, Harry grabbed the shotgun, which had what looked almost like a guitar strap fixed to the handle, slung it over his shoulder, left the bathroom and headed into the girl's washroom. As he entered, he heard a small girl crying in one of the stalls. "Cheryl?" The crying stopped. Harry opened the stall door and saw that it was empty. He nearly fell over as he felt something push him aside. He heard the sound of tiny feet running across the floor towards the door. It opened a small space and then slammed shut. The footsteps stopped.

He followed the footsteps out of the room, turned left, and nearly ran right into a mesh gate that was now blocking the hall.

_This wasn't here five minutes ago!_

The door across the hallway also appeared differently. He stepped through it and found himself not in the teacher's lounge, but in the second floor hallway connecting to the locker room and the music room. Somehow the girl's washroom downstairs must have teleported him to the upstairs washroom. The banging and screaming was still emanating from behind the door. He had no particular desire to see just what was making that noise, so he passed the door and headed for the locker room.

He entered the room and heard struggling inside the locker the cat had been in. Was it another one? Somehow he seriously doubted it, but he checked anyway. To his surprise, when he eased the door open, he found the small locker was empty and the inside was soaked with blood. Snorting in disgust, he shut the door and turned for the door.

He took two steps forward when a locker to his left flew open. A skinless body fell face-down onto the floor. A shiny object slid from its hand and slid a short distance across the floor. Harry stepped over the body and picked up the key, which was engraved "Library Reserve Room".

_How convenient...._

He left the locker room and returned to the girl's washroom. As soon as he entered, he turned around and exited the room. Sure enough, he was back downstairs. He made a beeline back upstairs to the library reserve. As he reached the second floor, he heard a phone ringing in one of the classrooms to his right.

Harry's heart leapt as he ran for the door. Maybe this person could help him! He looked at the table before him. It was covered with small blue telephones. The one nearest him was vibrating slightly. He picked up the receiver and was about to say hello but was silenced by the sound of quiet sobbing on the other end.

"Daddy?" Cheryl's voice pleaded from the other end. "Daddy, where are you?"

"Cheryl!"

The line went dead. Harry slowly put down the phone, and after standing, stunned, for a few minutes, he turned and ran for the library reserve room, determined to find Cheryl as soon as possible.

He unlocked the door and darted inside, slamming the door as a zombie child appeared out of the shadows and jumped for the door. The room had empty bookshelves lining its side walls. The back wall was taken up by two strait-jacket-clad bodies fastened to the wall. The table in the center of the room had a box of handgun bullets and a box of shotgun shells placed on it. Harry pocketed these, then saw that the bookshelf on the left wall wasn't empty. A single book lay open near the back of the room. He walked over to it, and read the page that it was opened to.

"Chapter 3: "Manifestation of Delusions" ...Poltergeists are among these. Negative emotions, like fear, worry, or stress manifest into external energy with physical effects. Nightmares have, in some cases, been shown to trigger them. However, one such phenomenon doesn't appear to happen to just anyone. Although it's not clear why, adolescents, especially girls, are prone to such occurrences."

Harry frowned, and closed the book. He frowned even harder when he saw the title of the book. "The Monster Lurks. By Leonard Rhine"

_This is what was written on the wall in the boy's bathroom._

Harry turned and headed for the door leading into thelibrary. This room was furnished almost exactly the same as the reserve room, but there was an open book on the table in this one, and bullets on the shelves. After taking the bullets, Harry turned to the book. This one was a book of fairy tales, one that Harry owned and often read to Cheryl. It was open to one of Cheryl's favoritesIt read: "Hearing this, the hunter armed with bow and arrow said, "I will kill the lizard." But upon meeting his opponent, he held back, taunting "Who's afraid of a reptile?" At this, the furious lizard hissed, "I'll swallow you up in a single bite!" Then the huge creature attacked, jaws open wide. This was what the man wanted. Calmly drawing his bow, he shot into the lizard's gaping mouth. Effortlessly the arrow flew, piercing the defenseless maw. And the lizard fell down dead."

Harry smiled as he remembered how he used to playfully mime the actions of the story to Cheryl as she clapped and squealed happily. He left the library and unlocked the double doors leading to the north hallway. He continued down the hallway and swore as another mesh gate came into view. He checked his map for a way around it. All the classrooms had doors inside them connecting them to each other. He could go through the classroom to his left and into the next one, which he could exit on the other side of the gate from.

He folded up the map and shoved it back inside his jacket. He tried both doors leading into the classroom, but both were locked.

He had to find the key.

But he had just lucked out on finding the library reserve key. There were eight classrooms in this school, and he didn't even know where the keys would be kept, or if the teachers themselves had them. If that was the case, he would probably not be able to find

them.

Defeated, he turned and headed back to the east hallway. As he turned for the stairs, he heard small footsteps running up to the roof. "Cheryl?"

He ran up the stairs after the footsteps. He heard a heavy door open and swing shut shortly before he reached the top himself. He pulled the door open and ran out onto the school roof. Rain was still falling from the sky, and was hitting the grimy metal rooftop with a heavy pinging sound. It was pooling at his feet, oily and slick, and he had to fight to keep from falling as he crossed to the other side of the roof, next to a large water tower, where Cheryl stood on the roof, clutching a small pink rubber ball and staring not at Harry, but up at the moonless sky.

Unable to speak, Harry reached out to grab Cheryl's hand. His hand was inches way from hers when her head snapped towards Harry's. Their eyes met briefly, and the hair on the back of Harry's neck stood up as he saw they were glowing red. She blinked once, and her eyes turned blue again. She giggled, and thrust the rubber ball into Harry's hand before spreading her arms and falling backwards off the roof. Harry screamed, and ran to the edge to see her land in a group of bushes in the school courtyard. She stood up, and, apparently unharmed, skipped across the courtyard and disappeared back into the school.

Gaping after her disappearing form, Harry moments later glanced down at the pink rubber ball in his hand. He felt that Cheryl wanted him to do something with it. But what? He held it up into the beam of his flashlight, and turned it back and forth, looking for something; anything. His hands were sweaty, and he lost his grip on the ball. It fell to the ground and bounced off behind him to the left, towards the gutter. He ran after it, and saw it fall into the gutter and completely plug up the small hole where water was drained out of it. He snatched it up, and saw a glint of light inside the drain as he went to stand up. He stopped, picked his flashlight out of his pocket, and shone it down the drain. A key was jammed in the hole. Engraved on the key were the words "Classroom 2C". Harry's heart leapt. The locked classroom had a plaque on the front door that read the same thing.

This was the key he needed.

He stopped, and wondered to himself why exactly he needed it. He knew Cheryl was somewhere downstairs, but surely he could easily enough find her. He really had no reason to be trying to go through the school the way he was. But he felt strangely compelled to go this way. Then he realized where this path would lead him: to the basement stairs. Something was calling him to the basement. But what else was there in the basement that could be of any use? The boiler? But how would that help? He didn't know, but he'd cross that bridge when he got to it.

He tried to reach into the drain and grab the key, but it was much too small for his entire fist, and the key was out of the reach of his fingers. He glanced at the pink ball he had set on the ground next to him and remembered how it had stopped up the drain. He looked back along the gutter to the corner near where Cheryl had fallen off, where another drain was visible, and further along that to the valve on the tap suspended over the gutter, and finally up to the water tower. He knew what the ball was for.

He stopped up the other gutter, and walked over to the valve. It was rusty and old, and it took alot of force to get it to turn enough for the water to begin pouring out of the tap. He let it run for a few seconds, watching it cascade over the drain plugged up by the ball and over to the drain the key was in, before he struggled to turn the valve back and shut off the flow of water.

He jogged back to the drain and peered in. Sure enough, the water had washed the key down into the school courtyard.

He returned to the staircase and wound his way back down to the first floor, scanning the hallways for Cheryl was he went. Back in the courtyard, he found the key in a small puddle of water below the drain. He picked it up and returned to the second floor hallway, where he unlocked the door, tossed the key aside, and entered.

He closed the door behind him and turned around to see three zombie children shambling their way towards him through the maze of desks that filled the room. He pulled the pipe out of his belt and ran to the row nearest him, where one of the children was making its way towards him. He brought the pipe down hard on the top of its head, killing it or, at the very least, knocking it out. It fell to the floor like a toppled house of cards. Harry stepped over it and made his way to the front of the room. One of the creatures had figured out his intended path, and had given up trying to weave its way towards him but instead had doubled back and was waiting for him behind the teacher's desk. Harry swung the pipe, which swung across it's head with a dull thud. It didn't fall. He swung it again. Still it walked towards him. It was now so close that using the pipe was awkward and difficult. It lifted its knife and swung it towards Harry's groin. He managed to squeeze sideways against the wall, narrowly missing the knife as it plunged instead into the face of the other remaining zombie child, who had snuck up behind Harry while he had been occupied. It screamed in pain and, in a blind fury, jumped on the other creature and began viciously stabbing it with its knife.

Taking this fortuitous opportunity to slip away, Harry ran for the door at the back of the room that would lead him into the next classroom and past the locked mesh gate in the hall.

The radio continued buzzing in this room, and Harry swung the flashlight back and forth in front of him, looking for any more zombie children. He didn't notice the immense black cockroach that scuttled up to him under the beam of light until it sunk its pincers into his foot. He yelled and, acting on reflex, stomped his foot on it. He wished he hadn't, as it exploded, shooting its blackish innards all over the floor and Harry's other foot. Shuddering in distaste, he walked over to the door leading back out into the hallway and was relieved to find that he was, indeed, on the other side of the gate. He ran down the stairs, unlocked the double doors leading back into the front hallway, then descended the stairs into the basement. Like before, only the boiler room was unlocked. Inside, the boiler was now gone. Where it had been, a small corridor led into a small square patch of granite floor. He walked forward onto it, and nearly fell over as floor began to shake. Harry realized he was standing on a platform elevator as it began to descend into darkness.

The elevator shuddered to a stop at what Harry assumed was the bottom. Even with the flashlight on, Harry could see nothing, not even the floor. He took a careful step forward , only shifting his weight onto the other foot when he felt solid ground under his foot. He took two more careful steps before being startled at a strait-jacket-clad body appeared in front of him as if out of nowhere. It was tied to a stick, with a pile of straw at its feet, almost like a sick parody of an ancient witch-burning. At this thought, it burst into flames, illuminating the room.

He was standing in a large circular room. He was unable to see the ceiling above, and the floor was metallic mesh bolted to thick metal strips fanning out from the center of the room where the burning body was.

He heard the same guttural growl he had heard when he had turned on the boiler behind him. Hesitantly, he turned around to see a giant lizard-like creature stalking its way over to him. With a roar, its mouth split open vertically, revealing double rows of canine-like teeth. It lunged for Harry, who dove out of the way and landed, hard, on his side a few feet away. He sprang to his feet, pulled his gun and emptied the entire clip into the side of the lizard's head. It didn't even react, it just sat there drooling profusely onto the mesh.

_I didn't even seem to piss it off...._

Harry thrust the gun back into his jacket pocket and pulled the shotgun off his shoulder. The lizard began to turn towards him as he fired a shot into its face. The recoil nearly knocked Harry off his feet, but the lizard didn't even acknowledge the blast that should have blown half its face off but left no apparent wound.

Nothing seemed to be killing it, and he didn't want to waste ammo. He had to think of something. Then he remembered the fairy tale. It was ridiculous. How could that possibly be a clue as to how to kill this thing? But he had to try something. So he ran in front of the lizard a short space, shotgun ready, and waited for it to open its mouth again. It did, and, fighting the urge to run, shut his eyes and fired into its mouth.

Half-expecting to be chomped on, he was pleasantly surprised to hear the lizard scream out in pain. He opened his eyes and saw it flailing about madly. Its head swiped the burning body and sent it spiraling into the distance. It swung its head back towards Harry, who tried to dive out of the way before its head smashed into his calf, sending him flying head-over-heels away from the center of the room. He landed hard on his side and rolled a few feet before coming to a stop. He heard the lizard give one final dying scream and saw it collapse in the distance. He got to his knees and was glad to find he was uninjured. But seconds after he got his feet, his flashlight began to flicker, and he was plunged into darkness. An air raid siren pierced the room. Harry covered his ears and tried to shut out the noise, but it just got louder and louder. His head began to hurt, and he screamed before collapsing heavily onto his face on the floor.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

August 21, 1983

Brahms, Idaho

Brahms Police Department

9:23 PM

At this point in his story, Harry stopped abruptly and, with a small choked gasp, leaned forward and held his head in his hands. O'Grady reached out to place a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He could feel his stress, and he felt sorry for him. He was also beginning to believe that, somehow, he was telling the truth, or something close to it. His story was too structured, too well thought out, and just too fucking bizarre for him to have just come up with it on his own. Either that, or he was the craziest son-of-a-bitch O'Grady ever had encountered. He decided that it would be best to interrupt Harry's tale at this point, at least for a little while. He called for Jergens, and told him to take Harry back to his cell.

He sat in the interrogation room alone for several minutes after Jergens had led Harry somnambulistically from the room. Whether what had really happened yesterday in Silent Hill was as horrifying and outlandish as Harry said or not, something definitely had happened.

Since he had nothing else better to do, he decided that he would take a little trip to Silent Hill himself and see if he could uncover any evidence that what Harry said had happened did, in fact, happen.

He told the officer at the reception desk that he was calling it a night, and walked out of the police station to his gray Mazda. As he was searching in his pockets for his keys, he glanced at the window of the driver's side door and nearly screamed.

Reflected in the window, standing right behind him, grinning a bloody-toothed smile, was Cybil Bennett. He spun around, dropping his keys, to find himself looking at empty space. He glanced over his shoulder back to the window, but the image of Cybil was nowhere to be seen.

Slowly, O'Grady lowered himself to a crouch, swiped his keys up off the ground, quickly unlocked his car and got in. He locked the doors, and turned in his seat, scanning the entire parking lot. There was no one to be seen.

There was no one to be seen.

O'Grady frowned. It was only 9 o'clock and there was no one in sight in the parking lot _or_ on the street. Even on a Sunday night like this there were always at least a few people out and about.

This somehow seemed to familiar....

Hesitantly, he switched on the radio. A piercing shriek filled the car. O'Grady unlocked the doors and jumped out, drawing his gun. He made his way quickly to the police station doors and pushed them open.

The reception desk was deserted, and he could hear none of the usual hum of chattering officers. He could only hear the shrieking radio from his car. Filled with a crushing dread, he made his way to the holding cells. Harry's cell door stood open, and O'Grady was confused to see a comfortable office chair in the middle of the cell, its back facing him.

"Harry?"

The chair spun around. Harry was not in the chair. A young nurse in her mid-twenties sat in the chair, thin trails of blood leading from her eyes down her cheeks. She reached up a red-nailed hand and pushed a few strands of her dirty blonde hair out of her eyes. She smiled at him, and O'Grady saw that she had blood on her teeth, too.

Aiming his gun squarely at her forehead, he asked, "Who are you? What do you want?"

The smile disappeared. Her eyes rolled back in her head. She opened her mouth, and a deep, slurred male voice filled the cell. "George O'Grady, tred lightly and carefully for you do not know the business you are getting yourself into. I would suggest you think very carefully about how involved you wish to become in things not of a natural kind."

After she was finished speaking, the nurse moaned, rolled her head back onto the headrest of the chair, and lay still. O'Grady inched his way into the cell. He lowered his gun and reached out to touch her.

With a scream, the nurse's face erupted in a geyser of blood, spraying O'Grady and the cell. He yelled and fell backwards as the nurse suddenly stood up and, pulling a scalpel out of her nurse's apron, lunged at O'Grady.

O'Grady screamed and shut his eyes, but nothing happened. Opening them again, he found himself sitting in his car outside the police station. He could see the receptionist at his desk inside and a woman with a small child walking past the station on the sidewalk.

Taking a deep breath, O'Grady fought to get his heart beating normally again. _What the hell was that?_

He turned the keys in the ignition, shifted into drive, and drove slowly out of the parking lot. The receptionist smiled and waved at O'Grady as he drove past the doors. O'Grady waved feebly back, then turned onto the street and headed for Highway 37.

August 21, 1983

Brahms, Idaho

Brahms Police Department

9:34 PM

Harry looked up as a shadow fell over him.

"It won't be long now. You may have her back soon." Cybil said.

Harry shut his eyes.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

August 21, 1983

Silent Hill, Idaho

Just outside Silent Hill

10:42 PM

O"Grady put his blinker on and took the offramp from the highway into Silent Hill. He drove down Midwich Street, and turned left onto Bloch Street. He drove across the bridge into Central Silent Hill, and pulled into a parking space outside the Silent Hill Police Department. He got out of his car, locked the door, and pushed through the doors. The receptionist, Hollis, looked up and broke into a grin when he saw O'Grady.

"O'Grady! What a pleasant surprise!"

O'Grady nodded his head in a curt greeting. "I would like to speak to Nevlin if I may."

At this moment, the door to O'Grady's left opened and Nevlin walked out. "O'Grady! What brings you here?"

"Malcolm, I was wondering if you found a wrecked Jeep by the highway today?"

"Yeah, there was an empty Jeep by the overpass on Bachman Road that we towed earlier today. Looks like it smashed through the guardrail above it. Does it belong to your man, Mason?"

"Yes, I'm sure it does. I also need to ask you, can you let me into Midwich Elementary School? Right now?"

Nevlin blanched. "The elementary school? Right now? Why?"

"It's complicated. Let me simply say that Mason claims to have been in there yesterday, and I want to look around."

"Well, okay. Let me get the principal, Christine White, on the line. She'll let you in if I ask her to. Did Mason do something I should know about?"

"I don't think so. If I find anything, I'll be sure to let you know. But this isn't something you should really concern yourself with."

"Okay, if you say so. Come on back to my office while I call Miss White."

O'Grady followed Nevlin back to his small office at the back of the building, past the holding cells. Nevlin closed his door behind them as they entered. He spoke to White for a few minutes, then hung up. "She doesn't mind going in for a few minutes. She said she has a few things to get ready for school tomorrow morning anyway. She'll go with you."

"That's fine. Nevlin. Thanks, I owe you one."

O'Grady left the office and returned to the lobby.

August 21, 1983

Silent Hill, Idaho

Midwich Elementary School

10:54 PM

O'Grady watched from his car as the rusty white Toyota lurched into a spot next to his. He had originally had trouble finding the parking lot, which was situated rather inconveniently around the back of the school. To get there, he had to turn off of Midwich Street up between Matheson and Finney onto an unnamed street, turn south on yet another unnamed street, and drive south until he came to it. Whoever had designed this little detour obviously had a terrible sense of humor.

An elderly woman with short white hair and a prim, tight, wrinkled face got out of the Toyota. She still looked like she had several years of healthy living left in her and who would die with a smug smile on her face and her middle finger cheerfully raised. She smiled and waved to O'Grady, who also was out of his vehicle. They crossed the short distance between each other and shook hands.

"Hello, O'Grady, is it? My name is Christine White. I am the principal of this school. Chief Nevlin said you wanted to look around. May I ask why?"

"Unfortunately, Miss White...."

"Christine, please."

"Christine, I cannot say anything. It's confidential police business. But I can say I don't think you should be overly alarmed. I have a man in Brahms who claims to have been inside the school yesterday."

"I hope he didn't cause any damage breaking in, if that's what you say he did."

"I wouldn't worry about that. He says he went in through the front door."

They had walked around the school while they had been talking and now stood before the double entrance doors. Christine grabbed the handle and pushed. The doors stuck fast. "Well, he either locked up when he left, or he is lying."

"Maybe." O'Grady frowned. He didn't know anything yet about Harry's exit from the school. He would definitely talk to him more once he was done here.

Christine took a brass key out of her jeans pocket and unlocked the doors. "I'll be in my office. If you need me, I'll be there. It's the door behind the reception desk to our left. It used to be the teacher's lounge, but they all seemed to gather in Ken Gordon's classroom, so I converted it into an office.

O'Grady gently grabbed her arm as she turned for the reception area. "Did you say the teacher's lounge isn't a teacher's lounge anymore?"

Christine turned back and gave O'Grady an odd look he knew he definitely deserved. "Yes, that's exactly what I said. Is something wrong?"

"Actually, yes. The man I have in Brahms, he mentioned being in the teacher's lounge."

"Your man is lying again. There hasn't been a teacher's lounge in this school for seven years."

August 22, 1983

Silent Hill, Idaho

Midwich Elementary School

11:16 PM

O'Grady was feeling very uneasy. He had been through each of the rooms and had found nothing out of place in many of the rooms, including the boiler room, but in the science lab he found the melted remains of what he was sure was Harry's old man's hand statue. A bottle of hydrochloric acid stood empty next to it. Next he checked the music room. There was a plaque on the wall with a round hollow, but nothing was in it. Harry's Silver Moon.

"Okay, I've finished up what I need to do here, so we can leave whenever you're done." Christine said from behind him, startling him. "Gosh. Jumpy much?"

She followed his gaze to the plaque. "Oh, fuck! What happened to the medallion! It was made out of pure silver!" She whirled O'Grady around with surprising strength. "Did your man take it?!"

O'Grady shook his head. A shiver ran down his spine. Without a word, he left the music room and headed downstairs to the courtyard to the clock tower, Christine following him the entire time. There, in the slots next to the small door, was a gold medal and a silver medal.

"What the hell?" Christine muttered as she removed the silver medal from the slot. O'Grady noticed there was no plaque reading "A Silver Moon" under the hollow. She then glanced at the gold medal and gasped. "Oh, my God!" She grabbed it out of its hollow (which also had no plaque) and held it up in front of her face, her mouth hanging open.

"What is it?"

Christine looked up at him with disbelieving eyes. "This medal was stolen from the music room seven years ago. It was part of a double set, the other being this silver medal. Mrs. Jonille, the music teacher, owned them. They were left to her by her grandfather when he died. She was devastated. She suspected that a student of hers, Alessa Gillespie, stole it, after she gave her detention for hitting another student. She never did get along with the Gillespie girl. She said her eyes were very spooky, very distant. It was like she was looking right through you. Seeing a seven year old with this type of behavior unsettled her. However, she never was able to find out for sure if the girl had stolen it."

"Why not?"

Christine looked at him with sad eyes. "Ken Gordon, the teacher I mentioned before? He noticed Alessa and thought that there was something bad happening to her at home. You know, physical abuse? Or something like that. Anyway, he decided to meet with the girl's mother one day after speaking to her. The next day. she called and told us she was pulling Alessa out of the school. That was seven years ago. You do know what happened seven years ago, right?"

She looked up at O'Grady as she asked this, but saw that he was no longer paying attention to her. He was looking at the ground in the center of the courtyard. She walked over and stared at the weird marking carved into the stone at their feet. It appeared to be a triangle within a circle, with some sort of hieroglyphics scrawled throughout it. The outer circle was enclosed within another circle outside it, making it look a little like a clock. There were even weird figures scratched in it all the way around similar to a clock's numbers. "What is this?"

O'Grady didn't answer, he simply turned and ran like hell out of the school for his car, leaving Christine White standing, bewildered, in the school courtyard with the two medals clasped in each fist.

August 22, 1983

Brahms, Idaho

215 Gage Avenue

12:11 AM

O'Grady locked his front door behind him, checked it twice, and then proceeded to lock every window and door in his house. He showered, undressed, and got into bed, feeling very much like the world as he knew it was falling apart. He shoved his service pistol under his pillow and switched off his lamp.

He lay in the darkness staring at the small blinking red light on his bedside table for five minutes before he realized that it was his answering machine. He turned the lamp back on and pressed the "Listen" button. The room was suddenly filled with the same noise that had screamed out of his car speakers in his (hallucination?) weird experience earlier that night in the police station parking lot. It went on for about a minute before it stopped. The sound of heavy breathing and grunting followed the sudden silence. Then O'Grady heard two words before the message ended:

"You're ours."

August 22, 1983

Brahms, Idaho

Brahms Police Department

9:16 AM

O'Grady had spent the entire night after hearing the message sitting in his bed staring at the door with his pistol in his hand. He now sat in his office drinking coffee with an unsteady hand. The combination of what had happened in Silent Hill last night and the threatening message was threatening to unhinge O'Grady.

He shook his head. _What the hell am I doing? Just because there was that symbol in the courtyard last night doesn't mean a thing. And that message could be someone working with Mason. There is no evidence to support that what he said has any basis in truth._

But it did, and O'Grady knew it. But being scared wasn't going to get him anywhere. He was a police officer, and he was going to get to the bottom of this no matter what the cost.

Then the phone rang. He reached out a trembling hand and picked it up. It was Nevlin.

"George, are you okay? You sound terrible. Did something happen last night? Christine White called me last night and said you just took off. Is everything alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm just a little jumpy. So much has happened these past few days. I didn't sleep very well last night, that's all."

"Okay, if you say so. Take it easy. I'll see you when I see you."

"Thanks, Nevlin." He hung up.

Ten minutes later he had showered, dressed, and was on his way to work. He hung his coat up in his office, and turned to see Jergens standing by his open door.

"Yes, Jergens?"

"I just got off the phone with the Twin Peaks authorities. The teeth marks on Kaufmann's body don't match Mason's teeth."

_Shit. _"Okay, Jergens. Thank you."

"You're welcome, sir." The door closed again.

He sent one of his officers to fetch Harry and headed back to the interrogation room.

As he sat back down in his chair, he realized that this was the first time he had had to use the interrogation room quite this much. Brahms was substantially bigger than Silent Hill, yes, and there was more crime here than there was there, but even so, he couldn't even remember when he, or any of his officers for that matter, had to use it last.

_But then again, how often do we have someone claiming to have been fighting monsters after being found with a dead infant in his arms?_

He broke off this train of thought as Harry was led back into the room by two officers. He looked even worse today than he had yesterday. _We're twins_, O'Grady thought, _we both look like absolute shit today_.

The officers left the room and O'Grady started up without segue. "So, Harry, I went to Midwich Elementary last night after we finished speaking."

That got Harry's attention. His head snapped up and he fixed O'Grady with a terrified gaze. "And?"

"Well, I found that marking in the courtyard you mentioned, as well as those medals you said you used to, er, unlock the clock tower door. Nothing else, though. Everything else appeared to be perfectly normal."

Harry nodded. He looked as if he had expected this.

"Harry, you mentioned being in the teacher's lounge. I spoke with the principal of the school last night as well. She accompanied me to the school. Her office _is_ the teacher's lounge. She converted the lounge into an office six years ago."

Harry didn't drop his eyes. "I can't say I'm surprised. I don't think I was in Silent Hill as it is now Saturday night. I think I was in Silent Hill as it was _seven years ago_ Saturday night."

O'Grady stared back at Harry. After a few moments, he said, "I suppose you think I'm going to shout at you and tell you that's impossible, right?" Harry nodded. "Well, I'm not. As I was leaving last night, something bizarre happened to me. I don't wish to relive it, but I will say that I'm starting to believe that what you say may be the truth, Harry. So I want you to go ahead and continue telling me what happened. You killed that.....giant lizard thing in the school basement, it hit you and knocked you out. What happened after that?"

Harry didn't quite smile, but he looked immensely relieved upon hearing O'Grady say he didn't entirely disbelieve him. Now, however, he looked troubled as he opened his mouth and continued his story.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

August 20, 1983

Silent Hill, Idaho

Midwich Elementary School

1:45 PM

Harry awoke face-down (had he fallen unconscious face-down? He couldn't remember) on cold stone. Realizing that he last had been on mesh, not stone, he sat up quickly and gasped as his head spun and colors began to swim in his eyes. He put his head back down and waited for the feeling to subside, then slowly got to his feet and looked around the room.

He was back in the boiler room in the school. Things seemed to be back to normal. The generator was back, no swinging gates this time. No mesh. No rust. No blood. And, most importantly, no static was coming from the radio, which he checked to make sure wasn't broken. He then checked to see if _he_ was broken at all. He was fine. A few cuts and bruises, and he kind of felt like he was going crazy, but yeah, otherwise he was just peachy keen.

Then she walked out from behind the generator. Harry gasped and aimed his gun at her, before registering that she was a human. Not only that, she was the girl who had walked out in front of his Jeep. "You...." He lowered his gun and shone his flashlight on her. She leaned casually back against the generator and put one foot up back against it, not looking at him but looking attentively at something shiny she held in her hand. She stared at it for a few minutes, and Harry found himself unable to say anything else to her. She then slowly looked up at him, tossed what she was holding at his feet, and then _disappeared into thin air_.

A shiver ran down his spine. Through all the bizarre and truly fucked-up shit he had seen since the accident, this actually had frightened him the most. A shiver ran down his spine and he felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. He finally found himself able to speak. "Who was that? Who in the hell was that?" He asked the empty room.

He walked over and picked up the shiny object the girl had thrown at him. It was a key. A name was engraved on the key: "Gordon".

Clueless about who Gordon was and where the key was to be used, he left the basement and headed up the stairs to the first floor west hallway. Everything here was back to normal too. He walked up and down the hall, testing all the doors. All were locked except the one leading to the entry hallway.

He opened the door just as the ringing started. Church bells. Harry's heart skipped a beat. Maybe there was someone else left alive in this town!

He opened the map and quickly discovered the nearest (and, upon closer inspection, _only)_ church. Balkan Church. It was on Bloch Street, a few blocks east of the school. He hoped his way there wasn't blocked by any of those damned chasms.

He took one last look at the secretary's desk before he left and saw the bloody books were gone. There was only one book left, and it was open. Harry glanced at the open page and saw it was a list of the teachers at the school. One name stood out for him: "K. Gordon". He was convinced: the key the ghost girl (what else could he call her?) had given him was the key to this teacher's house. Why did she have it, though? Maybe this K. Gordon was still around and could help him. He found the address on the map, it was also on Levin Street, but the number was pretty high. It must be farther south on Levin than the "dog house" had been, probably between Bradbury and Bloch. He'd head there before the church. It was closer, and the girl must have had some motive for giving him the key.

He carefully opened the front double doors and peeked out. The darkness was gone and the fog was back. The streets looked mercifully monster-free. He ran across the street and onto Bradbury Street. He ran past a narrow alleyway that ran up behind the block of houses Gordon's was on. He soon saw a chasm come into view. Access to Levin was barred.

Maybe I can get into the house from that alleyway, he thought, as unpleasant an idea as another alleyway romp was to him.

He walked quickly up the alley, glancing at the numbers on the garages flanking the sides of the alley. He finally found the number he was looking for, but also found a disheartening smear of blood all over the garage doors next to the gate that led into Gordon's backyard.

His radio burst into a fresh scream of static. He pulled open the gate and burst into Gordon's backyard. He lunged for the door as a bird creature flew over his head and out of sight over the roof. The door was locked, and Harry had the key out and in the lock in a second. Thankfully, the lock clicked and the door opened. Without looking back, he pulled the door shut behind him and slid the deadbolt into place.

August 20, 1983

Silent Hill, Idaho

K. Gordon's house, Levin Street

1:54 PM

Harry turned from the door and looked around at the small kitchen and tiny living room. It struck him how this house's interior was almost identical to the "dog house" up the street. "Hello? K. Gordon? Is anyone here?" Silence was the only reply. He walked into the hall, opened the door to his left and looked into a room that was also almost a mirror image of the living room at the "dog house". If it hadn't been for the TV in the room and the different placement of the bookshelves, he might have thought he had been transported to the "dog house", much the same way the bathrooms at the school had teleported him upstairs and downstairs.

There was no one in the house. Harry had a suspicion that K. Gordon was probably what had left that big smear on the garage doors. In any case, he wasn't going to find any allies here. He turned back to head to the back door again, wondering how he was going to get to Balkan Church, when he realized he could get to Levin Street from Gordon's front door. If there weren't any chasms or anything to get in his way, he could easily make it to Balkan from there.

Probably.

August 20, 1983

Silent Hill, Idaho

Outside Balkan Church, Bloch Street

2:04 PM

Harry looked at the church with a sense of relief. He had finally made it.

On his way from Gordon's house to here, he had encountered three more chasms blocking his path and had to go through yet another alleyway to get here. Whatever strange force was in control of the town, it definitely didn't want him to go in here.

_All the better reason to go in, _he thought, and pushed open the heavy oak doors. He stepped into a dingy sanctuary with an old, weathered red carpet leading up to the stage. The floors were marble, and they were badly cracked in places. The walls had slim windows running up the entire wall in intervals, giving a view of Levin Street to his right and a lovely view of the next building over to his left. There were very few pews, just about sixteen or so rows of them, divided in half by the aisle running up the center. A large, wooden carving of The Crucifixion hung behind the pulpit. Harry was so struck by how miserable and creepy Jesus looked in this depiction he didn't notice the woman standing with her back to him on the stage for a few seconds.

Sensing his presence, she slowly turned around to face him. She looked at him without any expression of surprise, and did a weird kind of shrug with her left shoulder and chin. It was hard to determine her age; she was wrinkled and had a pinched, scowling face, but she could have been in her late fifties. She wore a very plain, dark grey dress that reached her ankles, with, strangely enough, a red-and-black-striped necktie around her neck, and a white lace shawl over her head. What little hair showed under the shawl was black streaked with white. She wore no shoes, and was barefoot. Harry thought she looked like some midwife from the 1800s who had been plucked out of her age and dropped into the present.

He walked slowly up the middle aisle, his feet thudding softly on the moldering carpet. The woman didn't take her piercing green eyes off him as he stopped about ten feet from her. She didn't say a word for about a very awkward minute before Harry cleared his throat and nervously broke the silence.

"Were you ringing that bell?"

"I've been expecting you. It was foretold by Gyromancy." The woman had a throaty, rasping voice, like a smoker's but not quite.

Harry lifted an eyebrow. "Uh, excuse me? What are you talking about?"

"I knew you'd come," the woman's scowl broke as she fixed Harry with an insane grin. "You want the girl, right?"

Harry's heart skipped a beat. "The girl?! Are you talking about Cheryl? My daughter, she's missing. I followed her to the school but then something happened to it. I have no idea where she is now. Have you seen those mon--"

"I see everything," the woman interrupted.

"So you know something? About what's going on around here? Tell me!" Harry started to move towards the woman.

"Stay back!" She spat, holding her hand out as if to push him back. For a second, Harry almost swore he _was _pushed back. She smiled sweetly at him, as if he were a child. "Nothing is to be gained by floundering about at random. You must follow the Path."

"The path? What path?"

"The _Path_! The Path of the Hermit, concealed by Flauros!" She said, as if he were an idiot for not already having figured this out.

Harry was losing patience with this lunatic. "What?! What are you talking about?"

The woman turned back to the altar and picked something up. She turned back to Harry and held it up for him to see. It was a small, stone pyramid. It looked like some sort of Chinese puzzle. "Here. The Flauros. A cage of peace. It can break through the walls of darkness and counteract the wrath of the underworld." She placed it back on the altar and gestured at it with her hand. "These will help you. Make haste to the hospital before it's too late." She turned and headed for a door on the left wall.

"Hey, wait! Don't go yet!" Harry called after her, but she simply opened the door and vanished without looking back. He ran to the door and turned the handle, but it was locked.

_From the outside?_

Harry ran to the nearest narrow window and looked out into the extremely narrow alley running between the church and the next building. He didn't even think there was enough room for her to have gotten out.

_Wait a second. She opened that door **outwards**__There's no room for her to have done that!_

He looked back at the door, half expecting it to be gone, but it was still there. Confused and mystified, he looked towards the altar on the stage. The Flauros was there, as well as three boxes of handgun bullets, one box of shotgun shells, and a rusty iron key. He pocketed the Flauros and bullets, and looked at the worn engraving on the key. It read "Orridge Bridge Control". He remembered her telling him to go to the hospital. There was no hospital on this map, but maybe it was on the other side of the bridge.

Having no other leads as to where Cheryl was, he had no choice but to follow the woman's advice. He left the church the way he came, and turned right, heading towards Orridge Bridge.

The morose Jesus' eyes watched Harry leave, and after the doors shut, a single tear ran down his wooden cheek.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

August 20, 1983

Silent Hill, Idaho

Orridge Bridge, Bloch Street

2:18 PM

Harry had followed his map east on a thankfully monsterless and chasmless journey to Orridge Bridge, which had only been a block east of the church. He climbed the rickety metal stairs up to the top floor of the small stone building next to the raised bridge. He tried the door and was surprised to find it open.

_I wonder what I need the key for, then....._

Inside the small building, there was a locker, an uncomfortable-looking swivel chair before a counter that had a coffee machine, a small television with bent rabbit-ears on top of it, a few papers relating to maintenance of the bridge controls and work schedules, and a map of the area across the bridge: Central Silent Hill. Harry grabbed it and turned to his left.

Against the far wall, facing the raised bridge through a large window above it, was the control panel for the bridge. A keyhole was in the very center of it, and the small light above it was red. Harry took the key, twisted it in the keyhole, and watched as the light turned green. Some ancient machinery churned to life inside the panel, and Harry looked for the button to lower the bridge, and was relieved to see a button that was marked "Down". He pressed it, and watched the bridge slowly lower with a great shrieking of rusty gears. He cringed. If there were any of those monsters in the area, he might as well have lit a flare and shot it into the sky.

On impulse, he checked the locker on his way out, and found a few boxes of handgun bullets inside. He pocketed these, took out his pistol, and stepped out into the fog again.

Although the radio remained silent, he dashed across the bridge anyway, then stopped on the other side and checked his new map. Alchemilla Hospital was south of his current location. He was on Sagan Street, and to get to the hospital he needed to go south on Crichton onto Koontz Street, where the hospital was. However, something caught his eye on Sagan Street just a little east of his location: Silent Hill Police Department. Maybe Cybil was there, or at least someone who could help him.

The hospital could wait. Cheryl was more likely to seek help at the police station than at the hospital anyway. She was terrified of hospitals, always had been. Nothing bad had ever happened to her personally there, so Harry had never been able to figure out why she hated them so. She had been at the hospital lots when Carolyn had been dying, but she had only been a baby then. Maybe even then she had known what was going on.

Harry shook himself out of his reverie seconds before the radio screamed to life. Whirling around, he only caught a glimpse of the creature before it tackled him to the ground. It appeared to be some sort of ape, similar to drawings of Bigfoot he and Cheryl had seen on a special on TV a year or so ago. It grabbed Harry's head in its hands and started to try to smash his skull into the pavement, but Harry grabbed its hands and resisted. He was slightly stronger than the creature, and was able to twist its hands to the left sharply, making a horrible snapping sound. The creature screamed and reared backwards off of Harry. He struggled to his feet, picked his gun off the ground where it had fallen, and shot one bullet into the creature's head as it sat on the ground wailing. It went silent and slumped onto its stomach at Harry's feet.

He put the gun back inside his jacket, then turned and headed for the police station.

August 20, 1983

Silent Hill, Idaho

Silent Hill Police Department

2:29 PM

The front lobby was deserted, and the door to his right was jammed shut. The only other door he could access in the room was the one to the left of the reception desk. Inside the cramped room there were two desks, a locker (this one locked) and another door (also jammed).

Harry sighed. There was nothing here that would be of any use to him, and no one seemed to be around, including Cheryl. As he was about to leave, though, a piece of paper on the desk by the door caught his eye. He walked over and picked it up, frowning as he read it. It said: "Coroner Seals called. Officer Gucci unlikely to be murdered. He apparently died naturally. But, medical records show Officer Gucci had no prior symptoms of heart disease." For some reason, Harry felt that this memo was relevant to his current situation. He put the paper back on the desk and turned once again to the door. This time, a message scrawled on the chalkboard near the door caught his attention. It read: "Product only available in select areas of Silent Hill. Raw material is White Claudia, a plant peculiar to the region. Manufactured here? Dealer manufacturer?"

Feeling this was also relevant, but unable to figure out exactly how, Harry left the police station and headed to Alchemilla Hospital.

August 20, 1983

Silent Hill, Idaho

Outside Alchemilla Hospital, Koontz Street

2:39 PM

Out of breath, Harry slowed to a stop outside Alchemilla Hospital's front gate on Koontz Street. It was an unremarkable white stone building that was bordered by an abandoned storefront on its right, Sagan Street on its left, and a large water tower across the street.

Harry pushed open the large iron gate and stepped into a small, ugly courtyard. It had a pathetically small strip of grass with one withered-looking tree and a broken-up bench, and nothing more. Harry found himself strangely creeped out by the small courtyard. Already he knew this was a bad place, one that no one could possibly be happy in or get well in.

Suppressing a shiver, he pushed open the double entrance doors and stepped into the dim lobby area of the hospital. A number of blue vinyl chairs were set up in the waiting area, and the unmanned reception counter had a summoning bell, a broken telephone, and a hospital map on it. Harry grabbed the map and tapped the bell, but was nonplused when no one answered his summon. He walked past the lobby, turned left and started down the small hallway towards a door on the left wall that, according to his map, led to an examination room. A gunshot rang out from the slightly open door. Harry jumped, took out his own gun, and edged towards the door as a small pool a crimson blood ran out from the interior. He pushed the door open and looked at the middle-aged man in a gray suit who sat in a wooden chair before a fallen bird creature (what was _that_ doing inside?) with a heavy-looking revolver clutched in his hands. The man looked up at Harry with red-rimmed, sleepy eyes before raising the revolver at Harry.

"Hey, wait! Stop!" Harry ducked just as the man pulled the trigger. A bullet tore into the wall in the hallway behind him. Harry looked from the bullet hole to the man with shocked surprise. "You idiot! You could have killed me!"

The man got to his feet and shoved the gun into his suit jacket pocket. "Sorry about that." He had a rough, gravely voice that reminded Harry of Fred Flintstone's voice, but nowhere near as friendly and likable. "I thought you were another one of those monsters for a second there."

"No problem." Harry said automatically, realizing at once how stupid that sounded after having someone shoot at you. "My name is Harry Mason. I'm in town on vacation." Not exactly true, but close enough, he decided.

"I'm just glad to see another human being here."

"You work at this hospital?"

"I'm Doctor Michael Kaufmann. I'm the director of this hospital."

"So maybe you can tell me what's going on around here."

Kaufmann shook his head. "I really can't say. I was taking a nap in the staff room, and when I woke up, everything was like this." He gestured around him, stopping on the dead bird. "Everyone seems to have disappeared. And it's snowing out, this time of year! Something's gone seriously wrong. You see any more of these monsters?" He pointed again at the bird. "Ever even heard of such things? You and I both know that _creatures like this don't exist_."

"Yeah. But there it is. And it looks mighty real to me."

"What are you doing here anyway? Not that I'm not glad to see you or anything, but--"

"I'm looking for someone. Have you seen a little girl around here? I'm looking for my daughter. She's only seven, Short, black hair...?"

Kaufmann's eyes widened for a second, but he shook his head again. "She's missing? I'm sorry. But with all these monsters around I highly doubt she's...." He trailed off.

Harry choked back a hopeless sob at just the thought of it. "Sorry," Kaufmann said feebly, "I didn't mean to alarm you." He reached behind the chair and picked up a black briefcase. He turned back to Harry. "Your wife? Is she here with you?"

"She died four years ago. Now it's just me and my daughter."

"I'm see. I'm sorry." Kaufmann started for the door. "Well, I'd better be going. I can't just sit around here doing nothing. I'm going to try and find a way out of town. I'd suggest you do the same."

"So long. Good luck out there."

Kaufmann turned to look at Harry once more. "I hope you find your daughter."

After he left, Harry thought there was something in his eyes as he said this that said he didn't really mean it. He had no clue why he would think that.

But it was there.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

August 20, 1983

Silent Hill, Idaho

Alchemilla Hospital

2:45 PM

After Kaufmann had left the room, Harry had made his way through a door on the left wall that led to a small office, and from there to the area behind the reception counter. A small table was against the wall to his right, and the drawer was unlocked. It contained a first-aid kit and a small box of handgun bullets.

Without bothering to wonder why the receptionist would require to be armed with bullets and a med kit, he pocketed the bullets and stole some bandages and a small bottle of antiseptic from the kit.

Back in the examination room, Harry crossed to a door on the back wall that led to a small medicine room. There was nothing of much importance in the room, but on an old wooden table at the back of the room there was a newspaper. An article at the bottom had been clipped out. Harry frowned. For some reason he felt this was significant. But why?

Stepping through the door to the right of the desk, he found himself in a broad hallway that snaked abruptly to the left. Both the doors to his right were locked, but the first door on the wall facing him was unlocked. It led into another office, this one appearing to belong to a doctor at the hospital. Harry checked the name on the plaque on the desk. It wasn't Kaufmann's. A door was open to the right, which led into a cramped conference room. The huge table took up almost all of the space in the room, and there was barely enough room for you to pull your seat out and sit down. Glancing back at the tiny doorway, Harry puzzled at the fact that it would have been impossible to fit the table through that door to get it in here. _Maybe they built the walls up around the table_, he mused.

The table was bare save for a small key in front of the spot where the nicest chair was, more than likely the hospital director's. It read "Basement" on the label.

Back out in the hallway, Harry followed the hall to the right. The next door up was also unlocked, and led into a kitchen. It was also very cramped in this room. Stoves, refrigerators, racks of pots, pans, and knives were jammed into any nook or cranny that could accommodate them. A white board was on the wall to his left, and contained notes on food allergies different patients had. Next to the white board, a shelf containing plastic bottles caught his eye. _Of course, they wouldn't want to use glass bottles here, in case the patients broke them and cut themselves_, he thought as he picked one up. Deciding it might be useful, he put it in his jacket pocket.

He was running out of pocket space. He'd have to find something, like a backpack to carry all his stuff. He cursed himself for not searching for one at the elementary school. Perhaps he'd be able to find one in one of the rooms here. A loud crash suddenly sounded from the next room over. It sounded like someone had thrown something made of glass. He headed back out into the hallway, unholstering his pistol, ready to blast whatever else this town had to throw at him.

It was the hospital director's room that the crash had come from. It was larger than the other office down the hall, but not by much. It had been completely ransacked. A large oak bookcase with hinged glass doors stood open along the left wall, and all the contents of the bookshelf had been pulled out, opened, and thrown aside. A handsome desk that appeared to be made out of mahogany was at the back of the room. Harry read the name plaque: Dr. Michael Kaufmann, Ph. D. Kaufmann didn't just "work at this hospital", he _owned_ it. Moving behind the desk, Harry saw that all the drawers were opened, their contents torn about as well.

On the floor near the foot of the desk, he discovered what had made the sound. A glass beaker had been thrown to the ground, shattering it. It appeared to have contained some sort of red liquid, which was now mostly sprayed all over the ground. Upon closer inspection, however, Harry found there was a small amount of it still left in the beaker. _This is what whoever did this ransacked the room was looking for, _Harry realized,_ and if they tried to destroy it, it must be important._ Harry took out the plastic bottle and poured what remained into it. He'd have to ask Kaufmann what it was, if he ever saw him again.

Finding nothing else useful in the office, Harry returned to the hallway and came to the last door before the hallway led a set of elevators. Striding over to the elevators, he was less than shocked to find that they weren't working. He returned to the door he hadn't yet tried. This one was locked. Checking his map, Harry saw that, sure enough, this door led to the basement. Using the key, he unlocked the door and tossed the key aside.

A narrow set of concrete stairs led down into complete darkness. Switching on his flashlight, he headed down the stairs to a stone door. Stepping through it, his radio sprung to life. Pulling out the pistol, Harry looked frantically around the darkened hallway, searching for a creature ready to attack. Seeing nothing, he continued to scan the area around him until he felt a sharp pain in his foot and remembered about the cockroaches. Jumping backwards with a yelp, he stamped on the two cockroaches who had been attempting to feed on his foot. Holstering the pistol once more, he crossed the hallway and tried the two doors on the facing wall, which led into the morgue and the storeroom. Turning from the storeroom door, he tried the door on the opposite wall, which led into the boiler room. Also locked.

The remaining door, which was just to the right of the door leading back up to the first floor hallway, however, was unlocked, and led into a small generator room. The panel was open on the generator, and it didn't take a genius to know what button to push: there was only one button. Punching it with his fist, he heard the generator cough and wheeze to life. The room stayed in darkness. _This must turn on something else_, Harry thought, then it hit him: the elevators!

Moving past the door leading up to the first floor, Harry found that there was elevator access down here, too. Pushing the call button, he heard a pleasant ding and the right elevator doors slid open.

He stepped into the elevator cab, which was done in sickly green tile. There were  
only a few buttons on the control face; open and close door buttons, an emergency stop,  
and B, 1, 2, 3. Harry hit the button for the second floor. The elevators slowly rose with a   
screeching of old gears and shuddered to a stop after an alarmingly long trip two floors  
up.  
He stepped out into a tiny room with a few chairs identical to those in the lobby,  
and a bare table. There were a few posters on the wall, and Harry, alarmed, looked at one  
that had a nurse who looked quite a lot like Shannon Tweed cupping her exposed breasts  
in her hands. The message above her leering face warned readers to get checked regularly  
for breast lumps.  
Tearing his eyes away from this unsettling poster, he crossed to the rusty double  
doors at the back left of the small room. It was locked.  
Sighing, tired of this roundabout bullshit, wanting to find Cheryl and get out of this   
town, he returned to the elevator and rode it to the third floor. He found the double doors  
in this room (which was strikingly identical to the room on the second floor, titty poster  
and all) locked as well.  
_Where can I go from here? I've been everywhere in this hospital that is open to  
me. What if that woman only sent me here to either a) meet Kaufmann, or b) get the red   
liquid?  
_Harry shook his head. No, he knew Cheryl was in this hospital. He just knew, he  
felt her presence all around him.   
He decided to go back to the basement and see if he could break into one of the  
rooms down there. Maybe the storeroom had something useful in it......  
His hand stopped in midair as, back in the elevator, he saw the button reading the  
number 4 above the 3rd floor button.  
_That definitely wasn't there before...._   
To be sure, he looked at the map, but there was no map for any fourth floor. The  
fourth floor did not exist.  
He pressed the button. As he did so, his vision went black, and seconds later he   
watched, blurry-eyed, as the girl from the school basement walked into a dark doorway  
below a sign that read "Green Lion Antiques". An air-raid siren screamed faintly from  
somewhere behind him.  
Then he was back in the elevator. It continued to rise for almost an entire minute  
before the elevator suddenly stopped with a great jolt that nearly threw him to the floor.  
The room that lay before him was also identical to the two below it (he assumed  
the other floors were actually still below him, but he didn't believe anything for sure  
anymore) except for one detail. The room had gone all bloody and rusty, like the school  
had before.  
He turned to retreat back into the elevator, but the wall was blank behind him.  
The elevator was gone.  
He crossed to the double doors and found them open (big surprise!). He stepped  
through them and let the double doors swing firmly shut behind him. Then he heard a latch  
turn with a sharp click. He spun around and pulled on the doors. It was no use.  
Someone had locked the door behind him.


End file.
